Breathe
by hpMarauder4Life
Summary: Time Travel. H/G & R/T. "Stop saying you're dying, even if you are! We're stuck in the past and I can't deal with this!" Teddy shouted, laughing darkly. Harry smiled slightly, shaking his head. "But you have to, Teddy. And I know you will."
1. Enough for Now

_Breathing comes in pairs  
Except for twice  
One begins and one's goodbye_

_Enough for Now by The Fray_

Releasing a breath of smoke, a tall man paced back and forth across the long, wood porch. He turned to his companion, who dropped his own cigarette, glaring up at the man in irritation. "Potter, if you don't relax this whole mission will be even more painful, ya moron." He rolled his eyes, lighting up another one.

Harry Potter scoffed, taking a long drag. "Wills, shut up, please? I'm forty-two years old for God's sake, and here I am, sitting in some shack dressed like some punk kid."

Wills perked up a bit, his eyebrows raised. "You're that old, really?" He raised the thin stick back to his lips, his curious expression never wavering.

Harry nodded mockingly, "I have proof too." He chuckled, reaching into his back pocket and removing a wallet, showing Wills the small collection of photos, all muggle, lodged inside. "That's my wife, godson and three kids, Ginny, Teddy, Jamie, Al and Lily."

"How old is your oldest?"

"Teddy's twenty-five, Jamie is sixteen Al's fifteen and Lily is thirteen. Teddy's in Special Forces too." Harry sat down on the steps Wills was perched on, sitting across from him. He took his wallet back, glancing down at his family one last time before burying the wallet back in its pocket.

"Yeah? How long have you've been with the unit?"

"Since I was about twenty-seven. They came to me, saying that now that I'd captured the majority of Britain's problems why not help the rest of the world?" Harry smirked. "And since then I've been doing this alongside my work as an Auror."

"What's your wife say about that?"

Harry chuckled. "That I'm absolutely insane and then she goes and joins right behind my back."

"Damn, that's a real woman there." Wills smirked, spitting out onto the wet sidewalk, where rain was still pummeling down loudly.

"Oh yeah, Ginny's something special." Harry nodded. "How old are you anyway, Wills?"

"Thirty-four." He grinned, leaning back further against the wood post behind him. "Been doing this for six years. Lived here in Virginia my whole life. How often they send you here to the states?"

"A lot. I swear they might as well make me a citizen, I even pick up on the accent which drives my family nuts."

"I bet…I know this is out of line, but, what do you really look like?" Wills sat up, drawing his knees up to his chest.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Don't you already know?"

"Well, you are Harry Potter," Wills shrugged. "But do you really have the natural black messy hair and green eyes?"

"I have messy black hair right now."

Rolling his eyes, Wills told him, "Yeah, but I can tell it's not natural."

Harry nodded. "It's not really, but this is actually how I've had my hair for years now." He ran a hand through his shorter, purposely messy hair.

"Really?"

"Yep, I stopped wearing my glasses when I joined the force, mostly at their request. It didn't really bother me when they asked me to. Then I just never put them back on."

"You know, you really don't look like you're in your forties."

"So I've been told. What's your guess?"

"I would have said early thirties. You're just starting to get that look in the face, ya know?"

Nodding, Harry played with the white, muddied shoelace of his trainers, or _sneakers_ as they referred to them here. He felt kind of ridiculous to be dressing…well, like Teddy or James and Al would. He had always enjoyed the fact that his children were proud of the way he and Ginny dressed. In the words of Lily, they kept up a youthful style, unlike most parents. Ginny had been pleased with the comment, so he decided it must have been good, but this was more extreme than he was used to. He was undercover at the moment so his disguise consisted of black jeans, slightly baggy around the waist and they fell around his sneakers, getting wet in the rain. He had a black, zip-up jacket on, the hood pulled over his messy hair and his eyes were charmed to appear hazel, making him an insane copy of Jamie.

Wills let out a sigh, his eyes scanning the deserted street. Geoff Wills had just been introduced to Harry the day before and so far he had been the best partner forced on Harry all year. He was sharp and didn't say the usual stupid comments Harry frequently had to deal with. Wills had short blonde hair, though it was currently dyed a deep purple (his choice to use muggle hair dye) and he had shocking green eyes, a dark forest color, very different from Harry's emerald orbs. They could actually talk to one another which was rare for Harry, despite their conversations usually starting off a bit hostile, quickly winding down.

He knew he had been snapping a bit at Wills today, but all he could think about was what he had discovered the previous day, just before he had come to headquarters. Part of him wasn't as shocked as he had expected, but it didn't lessen the blow too much. He was just glad he had prepared himself mentally for it. He hoped Ron had filed the paperwork for him like he had requested.

"What time is it?" Wills broke the reverie.

Checking his watch, Harry smiled. "Quarter to eight."

"Yes." Wills threw a punch in the air. "We can leave soon. Any preference for dinner? I grew up around here, so I know all the good local places."

Harry shrugged, not caring much for food at the moment. "Anything you want. We need to come up with a plan for luring in Woody."

Wills waved a hand through the air. "I've been dealing with Woody's crap for years. Trust me, the moment Trucks opens his eyes and realizes he has one of his best agents and top commander chasing clouds, he'll call us back in."

His words hung in the air, not fazing Harry at all; he merely nodded, his eyes still watching the rain fall evenly. The neighborhood was far from nice, in a rather sore spot near the D.C. line. He had just arrived at headquarters the previous day, much to his dismay. He hated being called out during the holidays, not wanting to miss out on any time with his kids while they were home, even though they rarely stuck around the house, typically bouncing around England from friend to friend.

Wills stood up, brushing off his hands on his dark blue jeans, pulling them up a bit. He pulled the hood of his grey sweatshirt tighter around his neck, breathing in deeply. "Let's get out of here." He murmured, taking on a somber expression as he walked out into the downpour.

Harry followed him, analyzing Wills' odd personality, or personalities really. He was either extremely cocky and sharp or a bit depressing and reserved, more like Harry. He jumped between the personalities, occasionally being a joker, full of grins and chuckles. He was clearly moving into the reserved side of him, ready for his work to be done.

His thoughts breaking for a moment, Harry paused, his feet planted to the cracked, cement sidewalk. Cocking his head to the side, he struggled to sort through the sounds he was hearing, muffled heavily by the thunderous rain. Wills noticed his abrupt stop, his hand inching towards his back. "Wand or gun?" He questioned, just loud enough for Harry to hear over the rain.

Answering silently, Harry pulled the weapon from his back, checking to make sure it was loaded before sliding towards the patch of woods they were stopped at. He stepped into the dirt, ducking beneath a tree branch. "Where are you, mate?" He breathed, moving further into the trees, Wills silently following, his gun pointed to the ground.

They continued through the woods, raising their guns at every sound they heard through the rain. Harry was going to give up once his clothes were thoroughly soaked through, deciding he must of heard an animal and been mistaken. But a flash of color gave the target away.

"Duck!" He felt himself ripped down by Wills as several shots rang out, echoing through the trees. Harry shot back up the moment the last shot was fired, racing towards the source of the shots. He wove through trees, Wills hot on his feet. Soon he saw the same flash of color, only this time he raised his gun immediately and fired off three rounds, one of them meeting its target. The man fell down, his own gun flying out of his hand.

"Wills, get down." Harry growled.

"What?"

"Get down!" He turned his back, shoving his partner down as a streamline of bullets shrieked through the air, sending Harry crashing down to the ground. He glanced up, finding himself face to face with Wills, who was trying to peering around Harry's head to fire a few well placed shots.

"Potter, are you all right?"

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but he felt a surge of darkness take over the rain muddled world and Wills upset face.

***

Harry's eyes cracked open, fighting the pull on them, the desire for more sleep. He could hear a familiar humming echoing through his eardrums, the sound of his own blood. His eyes were barely open, but he could make out the white walls around him: he was in his usual room at St. Mungo's. Pushing back a yawn, he sat up slightly in bed, looking at the man who was leaning on the table that hovered above the foot of his hospital bed. The man had a small amount of white hair, the top of his head completely bald. He wore a white Healer coat and was glaring at Harry fiercely.

"Twelve bullets to the back!" He shouted, slamming down the several inch thick file onto the table. "I spent two hours summoning the rounds out of a mass of torn muscles, ripped blood vessels, cracked ribs and swollen tissue!"

He walked around the bed to Harry's side as he yelled, not fazing Harry in the slightest. "Potter, I swear, you will be the death of me!"

Harry gingerly touched the side of his head, finding that spanning from above his ear to above his eye was a thick bandage. He winced at his own touch and he felt his hand pulled away forcefully by the healer. "Clark, are you done?" Harry questioned lazily.

Clark sighed, rolling his blue eyes. "I will never be able to retire, will I?"

"What do you mean?"

"You keep getting hurt!"

"I do not!"

"Harry, I have treated you at least twice a year since you were eighteen! I can't retire as long as you are out doing Merlin knows what all over the world." He began feeling along Harry's arms, where an IV was attached, murmuring spells as he went and his wand directing him.

"Me? How am I the one preventing your retirement?" Harry winced slightly at the burning sensation that came with Clark's touch.

"Because, you'll just call me out of retirement to treat you every time you get hurt, am I right?"

Harry gave him a crooked grin. "You know me too well, Clarky." He said cheekily.

"Well, you're just a boy, I can't leave you with any imbeciles that are slouching about here." Clark never smiled, just continued his examination.

"I'm in my forties and have a teenaged kids, I'm hardly a boy, Clark," Harry snorted.

"Yeah, don't insult him, he's Harry Potter." Harry grinned up at the voice of his friend who was leaning against the doorframe, chuckling.

Clark rolled his eyes. "Weasley, make yourself useful and hand me the boy's chart."

Ron sprang into motion, handing the chart to the healer who began reading over it silently. Harry groaned, "Clark, when will I be considered a man, and not a boy?"

Clark glanced up from the chart. "When you start looking like one."

"What?"

"When you start getting wrinkles and grey hair, we'll change your status to man." He looked up at Ron. "This one is a man, see the receding hairline." He noted, leaving the room with Harry's chart, offering a sideways glance at Harry.

Chuckling at Ron who had grabbed the mirror from Harry's bed stand and was examining his hair, Harry beckoned him forward. "I know I have a few grey hairs, but I'm not losing it, am I?" Ron whimpered.

"Mate, sit down." Harry shifted uncomfortably, noticing he was shirtless due to the white bandaging that wrapped around his entire torso. "When's Ginny getting here?"

"They were all here for about an hour, and then they went home for dinner. They should be here soon actually."

"Well, I actually needed to talk to you about some other things." Harry stated, waving his hand at the door which shut immediately. "Did you get my new will?"

Ron nodded. "I put it in your file like you wanted. I read over it and saw what you had updated. Where are the letters you mentioned?"

"Hogwarts. That's all I'll say for now." Harry answered somberly, his eyes wandering. "I also needed to tell you something else, Ron. I haven't told Ginny yet, so it'll have to wait."

Ron's brow wrinkled, confusion washing over his features. "About what?"

Harry opened his mouth, but he didn't speak for several agonizing moments. "It's the reason I changed my will."

Trading in confusion for extreme worry and fear, Ron opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the door opening. Harry grinned to see Ginny walk in with a small smile, Lily following her closely. Harry held his arms open for his wife as she came to hug him, placing a soft kiss on his lips.

"Daddy, you're going to get yourself killed one day." Lily shook her head as she hugged her father.

"Funny, you used to say the same thing when you were seven. Where are your brothers?"

Huffing, his daughter pointed to the doorway where James and Albus walked in. Both boys were now the same height as their father, all matching in their slightly skinny bodies and messy black hair. James had deep hazel eyes, making him a dead ringer for his grandfather without glasses. Albus had the signature green eyes and wore glass like Harry once did only his were much smaller and squarer unlike Harry's old round ones. They were both chuckling at the jar Jamie held.

"Boys, what is that?" Ginny asked, sitting down in the chair beside Harry's bed.

"The bullets Clark got out of Dad's back." Al took the jar from his brother, observing the slightly flattened cylinders that sat in the bottom of the water filled jar. Ron chuckled, hovering behind his nephews to look at the glass as well.

"Gimme that." Harry held out his hand for the jar.

Albus obliged, standing at his father's side. "Isn't that cool?"

"Wicked." Harry breathed, shaking up the glass slightly.

"Not wicked." Ginny said, her eyes daring one of them to contradict her.

Harry chuckled, handing the jar back to his son. He leaned over to Ginny as the three kids plus Ron hovered to the window with Jamie sitting on the window sill, all of them commenting on the number of bullets. Ginny was staring at Harry intently, knowing he had something to say.

"I'm sorry I didn't floo or phone you like I had promised." He murmured, grabbing her hand.

"I had a feeling you would wait to tell me in person, whether good or bad. Did you make it to headquarters in time?"

Harry nodded. "I took a portkey right after my appointment."

Ginny's expression darkened further. "I take it you'll tell me tonight?"

Harry didn't answer, just pressed a kiss to the back of her hand before turning to call his children and Ron back over. He noticed that for the rest of the day Ginny kept shooting sideways glances at him, but he ignored her, even when she questioned him when they were alone, packing up his bag to return back home.

Finally as the day wound down, with James and Albus at friends' homes for the night and Lily with her cousins until morning, Harry took in a breath as he sat in their bed, preparing himself to tell his wife. He had been thinking about it for days, even before he knew the results of his tests. He sighed, looking around the bedroom they had shared for the past twenty years. For so long he had never even considered living long enough to have this kind of a life. To be able to sleep alongside the woman he loved for over twenty years and raise three kids and have a wonderful godson. It still seemed unreal at times.

"Hey." Ginny appeared, coming out of their bathroom; she did a quick drying spell on her hair, the red locks coming alive. Harry watched as she pulled on one of his shirts and crawled into bed, snuggling up beside him.

"I hate nights like this." She murmured into his neck. "I always cry."

"That's because I always have bad news on nights like this." He sighed, adjusting their position so they were laying down, facing each other.

"So, you went to that wizard in Wales?"

Harry nodded. "He had the results of my tests." He whispered, running his hand through her hair.

He could see her pale face and moist eyes, so filled with a fear he hadn't seen in so many years. He hated seeing her like this, but it wasn't like he could hide this or even want to hide it. He became so absorbed in his thoughts he almost forgot where he was until Ginny pulled him back in.

"How long?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"Ginny-" Harry pressed his forehead to hers.

She shook her head, asking him again, her voice stronger, though still strained. "Harry, _how long?_"

He bit down on his bottom lip. "A year, maybe a bit longer. I think I could pull off two…maybe." He pulled her closer, his arms tightening around her as if she was being ripped away from him.

She was silent, just staring into his eyes. Harry could remember exactly how Ginny had reacted to news such as this. While she was extremely strong, she still cried. He had held her while she cried after the Final Battle and when she sobbed when her father had been injured in the months following and when he had nearly been killed just a few years ago in a scuffle in Egypt.

But at this time she wasn't crying, which scared Harry greatly. Not because he thought she wasn't upset by the news, but because she was beyond tears. He held her even tighter, whispering in her ear gently. "It's okay, Ginny, I'm here right now. I love you."

He kissed her, knowing neither of them was going to get much sleep that night. It was one thing to tell Ginny he was going to enter battle knowing he may die, but another to tell her he had one year until he would simply stop living.


	2. Paperthin Hymn

_These roads never seemed so long  
Since your paper heart stopped beating leaving me suddenly alone  
Will daybreak ever come?_

_Paperthin Hymn by Anberlin_

With the sun beating down across the miles of sand, a soft, dry wind whipped through the dunes, splashing up grains of sand. A small campsite stuck out bluntly in the sea of white dirt. The wizards surrounding it were all engrossed in their own activities around a tiny fire they had billowing smoke into the sky. Several men were shouting through their cigars as they placed bets for their current round of cards while another small group was smoking, taking swigs of whiskey and tequila between breaths as they chuckled and exchanged words peacefully. All in all, they all hadn't shaved in days and were smoking or drinking or both, some nursing their sunburns while others reveled in the deep tan they had acquired and they were all wearing nothing but shorts, some of them wearing shirts that were unbuttoned, flapping in the wind.

Teddy Lupin was perched on a crate away from the unit, his eyes scanning the dessert. He was one of the few that had opted to keep a shirt, though his white short sleeved shirt was unbuttoned. He wiped his hands on his khaki shorts, dust caked onto the fabric already. He had been sitting out here for weeks with the rest of his unit, guarding the stop along the route that the South African President of Magic was supposed to be traveling through within the next few days. While they all sat around enjoying one another's company, no one was really complaining about the easy job, though they complained rather loudly about doing nothing in the dessert and not some cushy town in civilization.

"Ay, Lupin." Teddy turned to see his friend Devin approaching his spot. Devin had acquired the darkest, rusty brown tan in the weeks they had spent in the dessert, matching his dark brown hair and eyes. He had abandoned his shirt all together and had on blinding white shorts, a pair he had clearly not worn yet, considering the number of dust spots was practically zero.

He slid onto the crate beside Teddy, elbowing his friend. "Mate, you have been downright depressing lately, what's up?"

"Devin, we went to school together, so I like you. Which is why I want you to leave me the hell alone," Teddy sighed, agitated.

"Look, Teddy, I know the last year or two have had you in quite a slump, first you and Vic split and then you start getting all moody and irritated randomly. You always start out strong doing something, and we start thinking you're back to normal and then you pull shit like this."

Teddy grunted in response. He didn't want to discuss what people were shrieking about in regards to his well-being. He was perfectly fine. He wasn't dying or in danger of offing himself. He had an incredible job and a great family…so why was he so miserable?

It seemed like it had started when he and Victoire ended things, but it had started before that and the break-up was a result of it, not a cause. To be truthful, Teddy had no idea why he had gone downhill so fast. It had just happened. One day things just didn't seem so great and he couldn't bring himself to really be happy like he used to be. Something just always felt missing in his life.

"Going to say something in English there, mate?"

"What?" Teddy's head shot up to see Devin shaking his head, laughing under his breath.

"You were mumbling on in French. I hate it when you randomly switch languages. You and Harry are awful about that, you know?"

Teddy shrugged, grateful to discuss anything but his feelings. "We learned so many different languages so fast I guess we just sort of forget sometimes."

Devin nodded. "It used to drive us crazy when you and Vic, and even Jamie would ramble on in French at Hogwarts," he sighed, not talking for several minutes. "Come on, it's starting to get dark and the temperature is going to drop below freezing soon."

"In a minute." Teddy looked back up at the sky, watching the sunset. He pulled off his hat, tugging at it anxiously with his hands.

"Lupin!"

Both Devin and Teddy turned around at the shouts. Their commander, Leif Gerent was waving them over as he walked towards them, shouting, "There's a message for you! What's your relation to Harry Potter?"

Teddy felt the blood drain from his face; Harry was injured.

***

Harry rolled over, wincing at the sharp stabs of pain coming from his back. It was healing quickly and soon he would have nothing but a few scars where the bullets entered his skin at strange angles. He looked over to see Ginny watching him intently with red eyes.

"Hey," he murmured, reaching his hand out and letting it rest on her face, his fingers winding into her hair as he stroked her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

"I love you," she whispered, inching a bit closer to him.

"Don't be like that." He shook his head gently.

"What?"

"Don't act like I'm dying."

"But you are."

"So?" Harry pulled her to him so she was on top of him. "I want the next year to be so completely normal, it's boring. I don't want everyone to be on edge about whether I'll fall over dead in front of them at any moment. In fact, part of me doesn't want to tell anyone about this," He finished slowly.

Ginny pulled away from his face slightly. "We have to tell the kids, this isn't exactly something you can hide from them, Harry, they have a right to know. I understand not wanting to tell the rest of the family for a little while, but the kids and Ron and Hermione and Teddy all need to know."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. We'll tell the kids today, okay? And then we'll deal with the rest of the family when I'm ready, deal?"

Ginny nodded, resting her chin on his chest. She pressed several sweet kisses to his skin and soon he pulled her face up to meet his. He knew she wasn't going to be accepting about the situation right away, if she ever did, but he knew she would always support him. Right now, though, his only concern was the incredible feeling that came with kissing Ginny. He felt her hands move to his shorts, pulling them down as he matched her movements by removing her shirt.

Harry flipped them over, moving from her lips to her neck and allowing his hands to run all down her body, causing her to let out a few familiar sounds of pleasure that never failed to please him as well.

"OH, PLEASE STOP!"

Harry's head whipped around his wife's head to see Teddy standing in the doorway, a hand clapped over his eyes. His skin was deeply tanned, slightly sunburned even and Harry found only one question on his mind.

"Why aren't you in the dessert?" He handed Ginny back her shirt, slightly disappointed they had been interrupted, and found his own shorts.

"Well, I was called in because a certain relation of mine was supposedly injured, but you're apparently not too injured if you're still up to shag your wife," Teddy retorted.

"Yeah, well who wouldn't? And you can open your eyes again." Harry slid out of bed to greet his godson with a hug.

"So you did get hurt?" Teddy examined the large bandage wrapped around Harry's entire torso. "What happened?"

"Twelve bullets in the back," Ginny answered dryly, now sitting up comfortably in bed.

"Cool, did Clark give you the rounds?"

Harry chuckled, "Let's get some breakfast, are you hungry?"

"Yeah, been tired of having beer and stale cereal for breakfast."

Harry smiled, walking to his closet. "Go and grab some clean clothes from your room and we'll go out. It's been a while since we've had some bonding time."

"We'll tell the kids at dinner?" Ginny's voice was nearly a whisper as she spoke the moment Teddy had exited the room.

Pulling on his jeans and buckling his belt, Harry nodded. "I think that would be best. I kind of think Teddy has a right to know before they do being as old as he is. I figure I'll tell Teddy at breakfast, Ron and Hermione at lunch and the kids at dinner. I'd like to get it done in one day to make things a bit easier and faster. Sooner they know, the sooner I can convince them everything's fine."

"No."

Harry looked up; Ginny's gaze was fierce and he could tell she was near tears again. "It's not fine, Harry, and it never will be fine."

Enveloping her in a hug, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, breathing in the sweet scent of her long hair. "I'll be back in an hour or so."

Giving her hand a final squeeze, he walked out of their room and made his way downstairs, where Teddy was eating an apple in the kitchen.

"Couldn't wait, huh?" Harry joked, swiping the apple core from his hand and tossing it into the rubbish bin.

"Told you I was hungry," Teddy shrugged. "Can we go to that diner?"

"Sure," Harry nodded, turning on the spot.

They appeared in an alleyway and emerged out onto the sidewalk right beside a small diner, half filled with people. Harry held open the door as his godson brushed past him, a slight smile flickering on his face as they stepped inside the maple scented diner.

"Nothing for me, thanks." Harry smiled at the waitress as she walked away.

Teddy was staring down at the menu, his eyes scanning the shiny card, but Harry knew he wasn't really reading it, he always knew with Teddy, a fact Teddy rarely failed to recognize.

"So, are you going to tell me the bad news?" Teddy questioned, not looking up.

"You always did have a talent for sensing things."

"I think it's the whole part-wolf thing." Teddy glanced up briefly, his eyes darting back down quickly.

"So, are you going to actually talk to me about what's been going on with you lately?"

"That's not why we're here, Harry, I know it."

Harry sighed, gazing around at the unfamiliar faces around them before speaking to his godson in a low voice, in clear French, "No it's not, but I'm not sure if you're in any place to hear bad news. Now, while the rest of the family believes it's about Victoire, I know better. I talked to her and she confirmed my suspicions. Why did you run away, Teddy?"

Teddy shoved his menu away and stared at his godfather as if he was an angry seventeen-year-old again. After several minutes he finally answered, taking Harry's cue and speaking in French, "I don't know."

"When I was fifteen I was…an angry person. I wanted nothing to do with anyone and nobody was there for me in my mind. Ginny was the only person to throw it in my face and yell back." He paused for a moment, taking a sip of his coffee. "I lost Sirius that year."

Teddy's expression softened. He had heard Harry's entire story more times than anyone else and it never failed to make him appreciate his godfather and everything he had done for Teddy. He listened patiently, feeling a seed of guilt plant inside his chest.

"Maybe I do need help, but I honestly don't want it," Teddy muttered, looking up at Harry who nodded.

"I need you right now, Teddy. I need you to be strong for me."

"Harry, what's going on?"

Harry sighed, ripping apart a napkin. "About three weeks ago I was working a mission in Brazil. My guide, Tomas, and I were traveling through a section of the Amazon with a team of about ten, Hunter Bradshire and Jolene Hammock among them.

"We came to a river, a small stream breaking off of the main river, and across it was a site of ruins which is what we were looking for. A wizard was in search of a rare stone believed to have magical properties similar to the Sorcerer's Stone, though much less powerful. Being leader of the team, I went in first with Hunter watching my back."

He stopped, taking a deep breath. "I followed every precaution and listened to every gut feeling and used my instinct just as always, but…There were a series of traps, and I missed one. I made it to the center room where the stone was set at the top of pyramid structure. The moment I climbed the last step, I was sent flying, and all I could see was this gray light enveloping me.

"When I returned to England, I had them run every test possible on me. I had begun to develop painful headaches, bouts of confusion and was constantly feeling as if I had just endured the Cruciatus Curse for a solid five minutes. I spent days going from specialist to specialist. I went to France and Germany and Italy and the U.S. No one could figure out what was wrong, except that there was a strange magic infecting my body, something no one had seen before.

"Finally, I went to an old wizard in Wales. He was nearly unknown, but one of the Healers had told me he knew everything magical, and that he was as crazy as Dumbledore. I went to see him and he really was as insane as Dumbledore…Anyways, he did something rather unusual, he sent me to a muggle hospital and told me to come back after they figured out what was wrong.

"He had a contact at the hospital, so the doctor was extremely private and well aware of who I was. I spent a few hours there and then Dr. Wicket told me the news." He looked up at Teddy with a sad smile, "Brain Tumor."

"Cancer?"

Harry nodded, his sad little smile still intact. Teddy leaned back in the booth, is lips parted slightly in shock as his eyes searched the diner frantically, as if one of the Londoners eating breakfast was a brain specialist. He couldn't possibly be sick from cancer, only muggles develop that disease.

As if reading his mind, Harry answered, "The curse was designed to create a build-up of…bad magic to form. It's really a complex curse that no one's heard of before really. Its intention is to bring a great wizard down through something as pitiful as a muggle illness," he chuckled.

Teddy couldn't believe it; his godfather was dying.


	3. Fireflies

I_nnocence didn't mean we're immune to these things_

_Let's blame the passage of time_

_Love and Loss, truth it costs more than I can spare right now_

_Maybe it's simpler to lie..._

_Fireflies by Ron Pope_

Harry watched from the safety of the porch. He had fallen into another bout of confusion after lunch. Thankfully Ginny was the only one to take notice. It would be a matter of months before the symptons would occur daily. That was the only though on his mind as he watched his family.

They were spending the afternoon at the Burrow, the entire family. He smiled as Lily waved at him. She was perched on a rock beneath the largest tree in the garden. It was her favorite place at the Burrow, just like her mother she would spend hours beneath the branches, dreaming. She was braiding her cousin Lucy's auburn locks delicately, giggling as Louis came swinging down from the tree branches.

It was all going to end. He wasn't going to be around to witness moments like these. The mere sight of his precious daughter nearly brought him to tears. How was he to live like this? When he was young, fearing Riddle's plots, he never felt like he was losing so much. Now it was different. He had everything to lose.

They will be okay. He knew this. Harry had taken so much care in making sure his family was taken care of. James would graduate next year, maybe Harry would be there at the ceremony. Albus would probably be made Head Boy. Lily, oh she was so smart, she would graduate top of her class and go on to be something amazing, the next Minister of Magic.

He glanced through the window behind him to see Ginny in the kitchen. Her father must have said something because she threw her head back and laughed. Merlin, he loved to hear her laugh. Harry watched as she cleared the table, stealing a fingerfull of frosting off the cake Molly had baked. He felt his breathing pause for a moment as she licked it, grinning when her mother swatted her away from the treat.

"Harry."

Whipping his head around, he saw Ron and Hermione looking at him, concerned. Hermione had her arms crossed and she looked close to tears as she sat down beside him, resting her head on his shoulder.

Harry draped his arm around her. "Ron's gotten you all worked up over nothing now."

"You need to explain why you changed your will." Ron sat down on the other side of him.

"It's not important."

"Like hell it is. Are you okay? Is Ginny?"

Harry sighed, closing his eyes; he wished he could just lie. "It was a curse from my trip to South America. It caused a magical build-up. It grew into a brain tumor."

He felt Hermione's sharp intake of breath and he gave her shoulder a squeeze. "They think I have a year, maybe a little longer."

Ron rested his elbows on his knees, staring at the ground in silence. Harry couldn't bring himself to look, but he knew Hermione was silently crying. He quietly hoped the kids were too preoccupied to notice.

"There's nothing to treat it, something those muggles can do?" Ron still hadn't looked up.

"No. There's nothing that can be done."

The three friends sat in silence for a long time. He was sure Ginny had seen them and kept others away. He had never imagined it would be so hard to tell his friends. Watching Teddy storm out of the diner had been enough emotion for Harry.

"That's why Ted wasn't here today?" Hermione's voice was barely a whisper.

"Yeah, I told him this morning. I plan to tell the kids later."

Ron nodded, eyes still glued down. "And Mum and Dad?"

"I don't want to tell anyone else."

"But Har-"

"No, Hermione. No one is going to know. If my symptoms become too obvious then maybe I will, but I will not panic anyone." He paused. "We should look a little more cheerful. The kids will notice."

Hermione straightened up and Ron attempted half-heartedly to appear less solemn.

"It's getting late. We promised Hugo we would take him into London for dinner. Reward for helping Ron de-gnome the garden." Hermione sniffed loudly, turning and hugging her friend tightly.

"Mione it will all be okay, I promise."

"Quit being noble, Harry, we're not kids anymore."

"That makes it so much harder." He responded, giving Ron a quick hug before watching them leave to gather their children.

Standing up, he walked off the porch, moving towards the paddock where he realized all the children were gathered. Ginny appeared beside him and grippped his hand tightly.

They sat together in the grass, eyes on the numerous brooms in the air. James and Albus were both playing keeper as always, each defending an end of the pitch. Lily was weaving through her cousins, the ball tucked beneath her arm securely. She was exactly like Ginny.

"I don't want to let any of this go, Gin."

"What happened to 'everything's fine?'"

He sighed. "I know it is, but I still don't want to leave."

"I would hope not. I saw how upset Ron and Hermione were. It's going to be hard for them to keep it from Rose and Hugo."

"I know." Harry smiled. "Look, Lily is using your backwards shot."

"That's my girl. I taught her everything she knows."

"No one wants to be seeker."

"Oh please, James is nearly as good as you. He just doesn't have the attention span for the position. Plus it was always clear Albus would play keeper. I think he wanted to have another rivalry with his brother."

"Probably. What would they have done if they were both in Gryffinder?"

"Let's just be happy they're not."

The game ended and the family returned home, much to the dismay of all three teenagers. Emerging from the fireplace, they all protested, calling out their specific reasons.

"Freddy and I had plans."

"Dom and I were going to Diagon Alley."

"I was supposed to meet the guys for a pick-up game."

"Enough!" Ginny snapped, glaring at her children. "Now, I want you to clean up and change for dinner. We will eat as a family. Your father and I have something to tell you."

It was as if Jamie's ears had literally perked up at the mentiong of an announcement. All three kids obediantly went to the stairs and up to their rooms.

Harry grinned at his wife. "I didn't have to say a word. Thanks love."

Ginny smacked his chest playfully. "Go make dinner lover boy."

He chuckled and went into the kitchen, trying to make his good feeling last. He pulled out the chicken and started to gather ingrediants. He did a lot of the cooking, especially in the beginning of the relationship when Ginny barely knew how to make toast. He alway did things the muggle way, despite Molly teaching him everything about cooking with magic. He simply prefered to do things without magic. That's why he always lived in a muggle style house.

"Hey Dad, need some help?"

He looked up to see his own green eyes looking back at him. Albus was the helper. He never quite grew out of it, the ability to enjoy helping his parents.

"Sure, buddy. Start peeling those potatoes."

Al did as he was told, though his eyes kept wandering back to his father; Harry could feel it.

"Dad, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"How do you know if someone likes you for you? Like, instead of liking you just for your name?"

Harry nodded with a slight smile. "I remember having the same problem. Care to tell me a bit more about this?"

Al sighed. "This girl in Ravenclaw. She's really smart and nice...but..."

"But you don't want to pursue her just to realize she only wants a piece of the Potter fame."

"Yeah."

"Honestly? There's not much you can do. I wouldn't write this girl out entirely, but keep your guard up. You never know what could happen."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Anytime. So, how much did Neville shield from us in Jamie's report?"

Albus laughed. "Nev saved him from so many detentions. Says he has run out of punishments for him."

Harry laughed, listening to his son's stories the entire time they prepared supper.

Once the family sat down for dinner, Harry felt his sadness return. His eyes rested for a moment on all of his children, thinking about the past and the future he was going to miss out on. He wouldn't see his grandchildren. Ginny could re-marry...

That thought set him back. He would want Ginny to be happy and taken care of. But another man living in his house? With his children and wife? His life?

"Honey?"

Ginny was staring at him, worried. She probably thought it was symptoms again. He shook his head. "I'm fine, love."

She nodded, the worry not leaving her eyes all the way.

"So, Dad what's this announcement? We finally selling Jamie to the trolls?" Lily asked airily.

"Thank you, my dearest sister." James deadpanned.

Ginny sighed. "No one is being sold. Besides I doubt they'd want him."

"Actually, this is more serious, guys." Harry started, digging for more courage. "Do you remember when I went to the Amazon? And how I had slight injuries?"

Albus nodded. "Yeah, you were really sore after that."

"Well it was more than that. It took a lot of healers before I finally was sent to a muggle doctor."

"Why would they do that?" Lily was already panicked.

Harry held Ginny's hand. "What do you guys know about brain tumors?"

"Fuck." James breathed. His eyes flashed when his parents didn't even reprimand him.

Albus ran a hand through his messy hair. "It's terminal, isn't it? They can't fix it?"

Harry nodded grimly, causing Lily to leap from her chair, sending it to the floor loudly. Without a word, she ran from the room.

"I'll go." Ginny kissed Harry's cheek before following her daughter.

James was starely dumbly at the wall. Albus was fidgeting, running his hands through his hair.

"It's not fair."

Harry looked up to see Jamie scowling in disgust. "You are considered the greatest wizard since _Dumbledore_. You saved the world when you were _seventeen_. How the hell can this happen?"

"I'm still human, Jamie."

Albus asked in a small voice, "How long?"

"About a year, maybe more. But it will probably only be about nine months or so before the symptoms become severe."

"What will happen?" James questioned.

"Awful headaches. I'll get confused a lot. This tumor is in a place where I'll eventually lose the ability to walk, do simple things like read or open a cupboard. I will pretty much become...nothing."

"Will you lose your memory?"

"They say it's different for everyone." That was an outright lie. The doctor had said it was pretty much a guarantee he would forget his own name.

"Listen, boys, I don't plan to tell the rest of the family until it's necesary."

"I think it's necessary now." Jamie protested.

"Silence. Now, I told Teddy and Ron and Hermione. No one else is to know until I say otherwise."

He rubbed his eyes with a groan. "This is going to be hard for all of us, I know. I just need you to be strong. Not just for your mother and little sister, but for me."

"Dad, you're Harry Potter, you're the strongest of all of us."

He smiled at his younger son. "I'm not as strong as you think. Listen, this was a rough night for all of us. Why don't you head up to your rooms."

Both boys hugged their father, something they usually only did when asked to before leaving for school.

"Love you, Dad." Albus murmured into Harry's shoulder.

"I love you too. Both of you."

After waiting a minute, he abandoned the leftovers on the table and walked up the stairs, feeling his age in his knees for the first time.

Opening their bedroom door, he caught sight of Ginny, pulling off her shirt and tossing it on the floor beside her trousers. She turned and looked at him, trying to smile.

He moved to her, capturing her lips with his.

Tugging off his own shirt, he could feel their kisses becoming more frantic, full of more need and desire. They could feel the end as if it was tomorrow, not a year away. Forever didn't even feel like enough time with Ginny; a year was like a blink of an eye.

They moved against one another, sitting up on their bed. He pulled her head back, running his fingers through her hair. "I love you."

She tried to catch her breath to answer. "I love you too, Harry."

He eased her down on her back and they took advantage of the rest of the night.

* * *

Harry woke up feeling only slightly better. He and Ginny hadn't had a night like that since Lily was conceived. He had always made sure to be prepared for death, it was part of his job. But having the timeline stamped on it destroyed him inside.

He got dressed and kissed his sleeping wife before walking downstairs and flooing to the ministry.

Nightshift workers were filing out and others were trickling in to be ready in time for the work day to start. Harry ignored everyone as he walked to his office. He was surprised to find Ron sitting inside, apparently waiting for him.

"How are the kids?"

"Upset of course."

"Ginny?"

"We shagged all night. I'm exhausted."

Ron rolled his eyes. "How's your back?"

"Healing up nicely. Barely feel it now."

"So, what are you planning to do with work?"

Harry sighed. "I've been head of the department for eight years. Maybe I should just retire. Just do the odd side job, ya know?"

"You do realize that makes me next in line to be head?"

Harry smirked. "See good things do happen."

Ron scoffed. "I never wanted to be head, Harry. I like what I do now."

"Ron, you do most of what I do."

"Without all the responsibility. It's great. I never have to fire people and I have half the paperwork."

"That makes Mark Swanson the head."

Ron grimaced. "Who's after him?"

"Michael Corner. But I'd never give it to him, he's terrible."

"These options are just stellar. Naw, I've always said I'll quit when you do."

"Excuse me?"

"If you retire, I will too. I'll go back to working with George full time."

"Ron-"

"Harry, this job has always been you and me working together. We've been doing it since we were eleven. We bring in the bad guys and Hermione tosses them in jail. You may be able to go off on your own, but I don't want to. When I was younger, maybe. But not now, I'm too old."

"Ron, I can't leave the department to just anyone."

Ron sighed. "If you're serious about this, then I'll talk it over with Hermione. Maybe I will stay on for a few years, take the time to find someone and train them up right."

Harry smiled. That was his plan. He had always told Ron that once he decided to retire, he would stay on for a few years to train someone to replace him. Now he didn't have that time. But Ron did.

"You're the executive of my estate in my will."

"What? I didn't see that when I looked at it."

"Ginny shouldn't have that burden. She needs to focus on the kids. Hermione will know the legal garb of it all. It's simple stuff like putting the kid's trust funds in Ginny's name, stuff like that. I already took care of most of it."

Ron nodded with a sigh.

"Listen, I need to think of something to cheer the family up. Especially Ted. Any ideas?"

"Well, I dunno about the girls, but take the boys on one of those camping trips you used to do all the time."

Harry snapped his fingers, excited. "Of course! We haven't done that since Teddy joined the force. Take care of my work, would you? You can collect the retirement forms for me." He stood up, glancing around the office. "You can start decorating your new office too."

"Yes, oh Chosen One." Ron chuckled. Harry shot him a glare before leaving the office. He had three boys to round up and camping gear to pack.

* * *

A/N: Please review!


	4. Crossfire

_I forget all about the storm outside_

_Dark clouds roll their way over town_

_Heartache and pain came pouring down like_

_Chaos in the rain_

_Crossfire by Brandon Flowers_

"James!"

Sirius Black checked his appearance in the hall mirror as he always did before walking through the cottage.

"Prongs! Lils!"

"What do you need, Paddy?"

James Potter appeared in the hall, newspaper now hanging at his side.

"You old dog!"

Sirius enveloped his surprised friend in a hug.

"What's this about?"

Sirius pulled away and dug through his coat pocket. "Alice told me you two were trying so I got something."

"Merlin, Sirius, I didn't want to tell people."

"Tell your wife that before she gossips with her birds. Ah, here it is!"

He held up a white onesie that had the plain black outline of a stag with Prongs Jr. written inside it.

James groaned and took the tiny clothing from his friend. "Mate, we just decided we wanted kids, not that we were having one right now."

"Still in times of crisis, we must look to good things such as this."

"Don't mention the crisis would you, yeah?"

James turned and walked back into the den, his friend following.

"Sorry, James, but it's as bad as ever and you know it." Sirius fell into his usual armchair and sighed. "You two will make it to the meeting tonight?"

"Of course." James responded absentmindedly as he flipped through the paper.

"Stop looking at it, there's no good news."

"I know, it's just habit, you know that."

"A habit you must break. Especially if we're going to start calling you Dad."

"Which won't be until times are a little brighter. A child is the last thing we need right now."

"I disagree. We know I'm never having kids, so I need godchildren to spoil and corrupt."

"Lily will be pleased to know you're on board then."

"I was talking to Moony earlier."

James looked up with a grimace. "He still think we're suspicious of him?"

"Yes, though he won't admit it. I trust Remus with my life, as do you, but when he acts like this..."

"It makes you think he's given up on the world and no longer gives a damn."

"Yeah." Sirius sighed. "So, think you'll name the kid Sirius?"

"Never."

"Shame, it would truly help with his upbringing. He could be Sirius Junior."

"I thought he was Prongs Junior?"

Sirius was about to respond when golden light filled the room in a great flash...

"Are you sure you have enough in there?" Ginny followed her sons out the door to the backyard.

"Mum, this is camping, we're roughing it." James pointed out.

Lily appeared at her mother's side. "Yeah Mum, he only packed six pairs of Jean Pierre designer jeans."

Jamie gave his sister a playful smack on the arm; Ginny stepped between them before a real fight broke out.

"Where's your father?"

"Who knows..." Albus stated plainly. "Teddy's late too. Shocker."

"I am _not_ late."

They turned to see the wizard coming around the side of the house, his hair a deep purple. "I couldn't find my boots." He lifted one foot to show the black dragon hide before closing the distance between them.

"Where's Harry?"

"Good question." Ginny sighed, looking back at the house. "This is _his_ trip, right?"

"Yeah, I don't see why we have to go." Al complained. "_None_ of us like camping."

"Yes, well, don't tell your father that. Give him a weekend to pretend everything's normal."

Teddy groaned. "Why do we have to keep that up? We should be looking for treatment options, not mucking around the woods."

"I completely agree, which is just what Aunt Hermione and I will be doing while you're gone. Just try to have fun and don't let Harry try to wrestle a bear or something. I don't trust his judgement at the moment." She said the last part to Teddy who nodded.

"Auror instinct would kick in, Gin, he'll be fine." Ted gave his surrogate mother a peck on the cheek which she smiled at appreciatively.

"Hello?" A voice sounded from inside.

Ginny grinned. "Out here, love!"

Harry emerged from the house with his battered rucksack swung over his shoulder. He was still wearing the slacks and button-up he typically wore to the office and he had pulled a knit hat down to his eyes, his identity covered up rather well.

"Do you have my coat, Ginny?"

His wife held up the brown coat and he gratefully pulled it on. "Right, you lot ready?"

"Of course." Al nodded.

"Be careful, I love you." Ginny called after kissing her husband.

She watched them disappear with their individual cracks, Al going with Teddy. Ginny wrapped an arm around her daughter. "They better be careful."

Teddy found himself face to face with his godfather when he apparated to the campsite. Jamie and Al immediately threw their bags to the ground, looking expectantly at their father.

"The tent." Harry scoffed. "All you want is the comforts of home."

"Well duh." James said.

Ted let go of Albus and moved forward to help his godfather. The tent only took a few waves of their wands and soon they were claiming their bunks while Harry assessed the structure.

"Looks good." He nodded. "We can set up the chairs and get a fire going. I brought marshmallows!"

Once he left the tent Jamie shook his head. "This will be a long weekend."

Ted sighed, motioning to his brothers. "C'mon, maybe we can go for a hike and fight a mountain lion or something."

He watched his two brothers gather stray sticks and logs for the fire before looking at his godfather, worry coming over him.

Harry seemed fine, he did. But Ted knew better. He did research of his own on the cancer. It was more than a brain tumor. He knew that with a curse like this, the cancer would spread through his body. Soon he would suffer from more than just brain symptoms. He would become paralyzed possibly. He would grow weak and feeble, something Harry Potter had never been in all of Ted's life.

Al and Jamie had a fire going already as Teddy sat down, sighing. He thought about Vic, wondering what she was doing.

"Hey, Ted, what are you thinking about?"

He looked at Albus. "Life. A word of advice. Never grow up."

"A little late for that, don't you think?" His green eyes went to his father for a moment.

"Maybe not."

James sat across the fire, casually pulling out an old, wood pipe and stuffing a wad of tobacco into it.

Teddy laughed. "You think he will let you? Besides, if I remember correctly, you cough like crazy every time you try."

James glared as he lit the pipe with his wand and took a deep breath. Albus nudged Ted, laughing at Jamie's face as he attempted to hold his breath and hide the fit of coughing that was boiling up.

"Really James? You're my son. I couldn't even be around it until I was twenty-five."

Harry rolled his eyes, taking the pipe as James dissolved into coughs. Teddy and Albus howled with laughter as Harry tucked the pipe between his lips, smoking effortlessly.

"Your Grandad Arthur gave me my first pipe. The night this one was born." He gestured to James who was conjuring water for himself. "Said that one day I would come home from a stressful day of work to find the house in ruins, the baby crying and Ginny on the verge of threatening me with divorce. He told me to kiss my wife, get the baby to go to sleep and then sit down and let a good smoke calm me down."

He released a cloud of smoke and grinned. "Boy, was he right."

"Probably shouldn't smoke. You know..." Ted told him softly.

Harry nodded, dumping the contents of the pipe. He looked at the three boys he had raised so carefully and lovingly.

"I know you all are scared. I am too."

"Dad, you don't have to try and make us feel better." Al said softly.

"Yes, I do. I'm still you're father, aren't I?"

"You always will be."

Harry smiled at his youngest son before looking at Teddy. "You concern me the most."

"Why me? I'm the oldest!"

Teddy felt his anger rising up at his godfather's accusation.

"Because, you are my first. I was seventeen years old when I was told I had to help raise a small baby. I may have wanted to, but that didn't make it any less scary. Boy, your grandmother taught me a lot."

Ted smiled, thinking of his Gran, the tough old witch. "You've always been great, Harry."

"Yes, but because you are my first, it's like everything effects you first. You are the oldest, the responsibility will fall mostly on you when I'm gone. That's why I'm trying so hard to make sure everything is taken care of for you all."

"Do we have to discuss this?" James murmured bitterly.

"Yes, we do. You are my boys. You will have your uncles and your mother will always be there-"

"No she won't." Albus spoke gently. "Dad, Mum will fall apart. Everyone knows it but you. Sure she'll take care of us, probably smother us more, but we're growing up. She'll cope with your death while we're at home because she has to. But once Lily graduates and leaves, Mum will have nothing."

"That's not true."

"Yes, you and I know that. Mum probably knows that too. But that doesn't mean she'll be able to truly believe it."

Harry looked up, not wanting to see his wife's features that shine through their sons. The mere thought of Ginny not being with him made his breath stop. But to know the pain she would feel, the loneliness...it was so much worse.

"Dad, we will be okay. You know that, right?"

He looked to his son's eyes; the reflection of his own and his mother's. "Yeah, bud, I know that."

It was completely dark and the four men sat with their eyes on the fire, their thoughts overwhelming them. Harry felt so much pain and worry for all his children. The lost look in his sons' eyes took him back to his teenage years, filled with angst and confusion.

"This reminds of one time when I was sitting with Sirius and Remus." He glanced at Ted fo a second to see him smile at the mention of his father.

"It was the only Christmas I got to spend with them and we stayed up late one night by the fire, talking. They decided I needed to a man to man talk. Particularly about girls." Harry chuckled. "Now, Remus wanted to use the time to explain how complex relationships were and that I needed to be careful. This was when your mum was threatening to murder him if he didn't commit and accept the fact that he was stuck with her." Teddy laughed.

"Sirius thought he should carefully go over all of his Hogwarts conquests, and might I say there was a lot."

Jamie sniggered. "Were there a lot in Harry Potter's romancing days?"

Al kicked his brother with a smirk, their silent brother communication.

"Well, I took a girl to the Yule Ball my fourth year, barely paid her any attention. I had this huge crush on Cho Chang."

"Seriously, her name was Cho?" Al snickered.

Harry ignored him. "We kissed once my fifth year, but it wasn't that great because she was crying."

"You were that bad of a kisser?" Ted was obviously biting the inside of his cheek.

"No!" Harry started defensively. "She was talking to me about her old boyfriend who had died."

"How romantic."

"Anyways, that was it. The next year I realized I liked your mum and painfully watched her snog her boyfriend all over the castle."

Al furrowed his brow. "I thought she liked you first."

"When we were younger, yeah, but then she moved on and dated a few blokes. Then I opened my eyes and kissed the daylights out of her." Harry smirked at his sons. "Next thing I know I'm chasing three small kids around."

"So, you and Mum started dating when you were sixteen?" Albus was awfully quiet.

Teddy answered for his godfather. "That's how it worked back then. You typically met your soul mate by third year."

"Not really. Bill was nearly thirty when he and Fleur got married. Teddy's parents were older. It just depends. I got lucky."

Harry paused, watching his younger son fidget. "This about that girl you were asking me about earlier?"

"So he finally 'fessed up about Lauren Green?" Jamie ducked as his brother threw him a light punch.

Teddy howled with laughter. "Lauren Green, eh? What's she look like?"

Al blushed a deep crimson and mumbled his responses. "Blue eyes and really pretty brown hair."

"No red hair? Huh." Harry pondered.

"What's with the red hair thing?"

Harry looked at Jamie. "Potters just go for red heads. I did some research on it. My mum had red hair, my grandmother had red hair. My dad's grandfather was one of three boys and while his wife was a blonde, his other two brothers married red heads. It's a fact. One of you boys will marry a girl with red hair."

"She'd just remind me of mum." Jamie grimaced.

"Al, don't sweat this girl." Ted ignored the red hair topic, looking at his brother. "It's time you got a girl anyways. Now this Lauren, do you have fun with her?"

"Loads."

"She's smart and pretty?"

"Definitely."

"Get along with your friends and vice versa?"

"Pretty well, yeah."

"Why aren't you dating her?"

"It's complicated." He mumbled, looking away.

Harry pulled out the sandwiches Ginny had packed them and passed them around. "Well, like I said before Albus, you never know unless you try."

Albus looked up at his father and nodded.

"Now, we all know James can't keep his hands to himself, so we're skipping him."

"Just because I have no problems getting laid..."

Harry tried to pretend he never heard those words from his wildest son. "Teddy, planning on dating anyone?"

His godson shot him a dark look. "Seriously? Must we talk about this?"

Albus chuckled. "Yes, we really must."

"Teds, you broke up with Vic. That shows that you want to see other people."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't."

Harry couldn't help but notice James had become very interested in the ground suddenly.

"You, what do you know?"

His head shot up, glancing from his father to Teddy who was watching him curiously now too. "Nothing."

Ted barked. "As if! What do you know, and why do I have a feeling it's something about Vic that I don't want to know?"

James sighed. "I may or may not have heard Dom saying Vic was dating some guy in the office."

Ted ground his teeth together. "Daniel Benson."

Harry blinked. "So you know him?"

"Been after Victoire forever."

Al whistled low. "Sorry, Teds."

"No. It's fine, really. We broke up months ago, it's time she saw other people."

"Which brings me back to what I said before. Are you going to start dating anyone?"

James cut across his father. "Or at least getting some action?"

Harry glared down at his son. "How did I raise a womanizer?"

"Not a womanizer, Dad. They all want a piece of this good stuff and I am a perfect gentlemen all the way through."

Albus nodded. "I don't know whether to be disgusted or happy but he's right, girls think he's a dream with the best manners."

Harry rolled his eyes, focusing back on Ted. "One day, Teddy, I'm telling you..."

A scuffle in the trees caught everyone's attention.

Harry pulled out his wand and turned around. "Who's there?"

No one saw it coming as light engulfed them.

* * *

A/N: Shorter than I would have liked, but that's how it ended up. I apologize the updates are so much slower on this story, but I write multiple stories at once (otherwise I'd be bored to death and you'd be reading nonstop cliches)

Anyways, please please please review and give some input! If you're sitting there going, "Wow, if (blank) happened, that'd be amazing!" please TELL ME!

Much love as always (:

6-26-11 EDITED


	5. Tyrant

A/N: I was inspired to finish this chapter when I got a delightful review from Poppins. The POV changes a lot in this and for simplicity's sake, James Potter Senior is always James, whereas James Sirius is now always Jamie. Dumbledore will always be referred to as Dumbledore, so Albus is always Albus Severus.

* * *

_Walking on water seems perilous _

_Now you got my trust, and it feels, and it feels like sabatoge_

_Tyrant by OneRepublic_

His instincts kicked in. While a greenish smoke filled the room, making it impossible to see, he sensed two magical signatures that didn't belong to his boys. He felt Teddy beside him acting quickly as well. In moments, they had the two unknown men on the floor and their wands confiscated.

"Al? Jamie?"

"We're both good, Dad." James coughed. A second set of coughing gave away Albus.

Harry nodded in relief. "Right. Let's get rid of the smoke, then, yeah?"

He almost wished he hadn't cleared the smoke because the two men on the floor were something out of a nightmare. Teddy circled the pair with a thoughtful look. "Is it just me or do these two have a sick sense of humor?"

Jamie crouched to his knees, squinting at them. "They do look familiar?"

Harry pulled his son back and aimed his wand at the first individual. "I'm going to release the spell so you can speak. Now say nothing but your name."

The men glared at Harry as the spell was lifted. "Sirius Black. Now, dare I ask who you are? Death Eater, eh?"

His mouth was sealed yet again, this time by Teddy. "Sick liar, that's what you are." He moved to the other man. "Let me guess you think you're James Potter?"

Harry walked around the room they had appeared in. He had been there before, he could feel it. But where was here? He went to the desk where the _Daily Prophet_ lay open. He picked it up, his eyes flew to the date.

He bent down and held the paper in front of 'Sirius.' "Is this correct? Is today really November 5, 1979?"

The look in his eyes were answer enough.

Harry tossed the paper aside. He knew it was all entirely possible. But he didn't want it to be real.

"Dad?"

"Hush, Albus. I need a minute." He glanced to the window, and then back to the men on the floor.

"I am going to ask you two a few questions." He pulled his wand back out and lifted the spells. Neither spoke.

"We're in the Potter house at Godric's Hollow, correct?"

James sneered, something Harry had never seen in photos or memories. "None of your business. Besides shouldn't you know where you've broken in?"

"We didn't break in. My next question, when is the next Order meeting?"

No words. Just confused faces.

Harry sighed. "Right."

"Dad, what's going on?"

Harry ignored his son, and leaned against the desk. "I need to see if you really are James Potter and Sirius Black. These questions should also prove myself as trustworthy."

"Doubt it."

"Quiet Padfoot." Harry took a deep breath. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. The four marauders, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. A werewolf, a rat, a dog and a stag. Sirius you have a birthmark under your ear, most people think it's a freckle." His eyes went to James. "All Potter men marry redheads and pass the invisibility cloak down to their oldest sons.

"And I know all these things because I'm not from this time. My name is Harry James Potter. I am from the year 2022. I know these things because my parents are James and Lily Potter. Sirius Black is my godfather."

He knew his children were staring dumbly at them all.

"Now I am going to lift the entire spell so you can move. If you have any questions, please feel free. Then I will return your wands."

They stood up slowly. Harry watched them with interest. Sirius was another person, showing just how much damage Azkaban did to him. He wasn't thin, much more built. His hair was combed back nicely and he had a bit of an aristocratic look.

His father, James truly looked like his grandson. He and Jamie had the same hazel eyes and face shape, their heights and bodies were fairly similar, though Jamie was a bit more muscular than the rest of the Potters.

James spoke first. "So, where did you learn those things?"

"I told you. I'm your son from the future. If it's November of 1979 then my mother isn't even pregnant yet."

Sirius walked up close to him, staring him in the eyes. "You have her eyes. And you know things only my godson could know. But it's not enough. I need a few more things."

Harry sighed. "Let me think...Sirius the first thing you did after you ran away from home was buy your motorcycle and get your first tattoo. A dog on your shoulder blade."

Sirius turned to his friend. "I believe him, Prongs. I say we call Dumbledore."

James nodded. "Right, I agree. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now. Let's get some tea in the kitchen. But first, we need our wands back."

Harry was apprehensive, but slowly handed them over and watching as both men pocketed them.

They filed out into the small kitchen and Harry stared around the cottage, amazed at how it looked in its original state. He had spent years restoring it, though with his and Ginny's personal touch to use as a vacation home.

Sirius sat down at the table. "So who are the others?"

Harry smiled. "Try and guess."

"Well the short one is a dead ringer for you and while you all look like clones of James, the other one is the closest."

Harry chuckled. "This is my oldest son, James, and my other son Albus. The tall one here is my godson, Teddy, though he's treated no differently than these two."

James sat down with the pot, levitating the cups over to the table.

"You named your son after me?"

Jamie nodded. "I go by Jamie a lot, sometimes people get confused. James Sirius Potter."

"All right, Prongs, there is no way this isn't my godson!" Sirius laughed.

"So how did you get here then?"

Harry shook his head. He was in 1979...this was insane.

"Uhm, we were camping when suddenly..."

"Boom!"

All eyes went to Jamie who was smiling sheepishly.

Harry rolled his eyes. His hand was still hovering near his hidden wand holster. This was a dream he would like to wake up from. He looked at Sirius.

"Can you message Dumbledore?"

His godfather nodded, standing up and leaving the room.

They all sat in silence for several long moments before Teddy cleared his throat. "So, where is everyone?"

"Lily's at work. We have an Order meeting tonight though."

"Which is the soonest Albus can deal with this." Sirius reentered the room cheerfully, falling back into his seat.

"So, do I teach you all the tricks of the Marauders?"

Harry couldn't help but smile as his three sons snickered. James and Sirius lit up.

Albus spoke up first. "Let's just say that between the three of us and our sister, the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map get a lot of use."

"You have the map?" Sirius was gripping the sides of the table.

Harry chuckled. "It sort of found me in my third year, though it's not as useful as before."

"Why's that?" James asked.

Harry shrugged. "Well just in my time at Hogwarts I found a few things you all missed. And by now almost all those secret passages are common knowledge."

"Pity, those took ages to find!" Sirius sighed. "So, what are we like as old folks? Racing our wheelchairs?"

"That pertains far too much to the fate of my life and my childrens'. I can't tell you, Sirius." He turned away from his godfather's pleading eyes, eyes he hadn't seen in decades.

James cleared his throat. "Well, since you can't share anything important, what about Quidditch? You play right?"

Teddy never gave his godfather a chance to speak. "Harry was made Seeker his first year. Youngest in over a century. No one has broken his record yet."

"Al and I are both Keepers." Jamie grinned, nudging his brother.

Albus cleared his throat. "And captains this next year, dear brother."

Sirius frowned. "Are you in different houses?"

Jamie nodded. "I'm in Gryffindor. Al's in Slytherin."

The silence was deafening. James and Sirius both turned to Harry who was smiling. "The future is a very different place."

"It bloody well better be! A Potter in Slytherin?"

Harry stood up suddenly. "We're starting to move into a rather gray area here. I'm still not entirely sure about this or about you two, so you'll have to excuse me if I don't want communication until I speak with Dumbledore. I hope you understand."

His father, or supposed father, nodded and stood up as well. "You're an Auror, aren't you?"

"Since I was eighteen. Head of the department now. And these are my sons and I will protect them."

James glanced at the clock on the wall. "We're meeting at Hogwarts in two hours. Make yourselves at home, but keep in mind everything is fully warded against anything unwelcome. Sirius and I will be in the study."

Harry waited until the two men left before looking as his sons' anxious faces. Teddy ran a hand through his hair. "So much for a carefree weekend, eh?"

Jamie snorted while Al looked at his father curiously. "Dad, what are the odds of this being real?"

"Honestly? Your Aunt Hermione has done a lot of research into this. And by a lot, I mean a lot even by her standards. Her theory is incidents like this are entirely possible and have happened before. They just don't get recorded and are extremely rare."

"But will we affect the timeline? If I go give my father a big hug and say, hey Dad, will I inadvertently prevent my birth?"

Looking at Ted, Harry shrugged. "I can't say for certain. I would lean towards no, but only Dumbledore can confirm that."

"Won't that be weird to talk to someone who's been dead for like...a really long time?"

"I just did it didn't I? And it was the father I never knew and the godfather I watched die. Teds, this is a world none of you know much about outside of your history books."

Little did Harry know, there were two men outside the door who had just gone very pale.

* * *

"_A year, maybe a bit longer. I think I could pull off two...maybe."_

His words were burned into her mind. She felt like she was sixteen again, staring at his lifeless form. Ginny threw the plate she had been washing down into the sink, watching it break cleanly into six pieces. Taking a shaky breath, she wiped back her hair and then reached for the dish rag.

"Mum?"

Ginny turned to see her daughter's face peeking around the corner. "Hi, sweetheart."

"Are you okay?"

She looked back into the sink and began picking up the shards. "As well as I can."

"What are we going to do, Mum?"

Ginny dropped the rag and plate remnants and turned around fully, folding her arms.

"Lily, I won't lie to you. I don't know. I have no idea what is going to happen, or how we will deal. But I do know that we will. We are family no matter what happens."

"Do you think Dad's scared?"

Ginny noticed the unease in her daughter's voice and she held out her arms. Lily rushed to her.

"I don't think he's afraid of death. He never has been. But he is afraid of leaving us. I can promise you that."

"How can we save him?"

"I don't know, Lily Luna, I don't know."

* * *

Sirius pressed his forehead against the wall, taking in a deep breath. It wasn't hearing about his own death that frightened him most. It was knowing the man beside him, his mate, his brother, was going to be gone soon. That he wouldn't be around to raise his son.

That would become his job. Sirius swallowed his emotion. He would be expected to be the father for Harry. Him, a father?

James cleared his throat beside him and Sirius looked up at his pale face.

"Don't worry, Padfoot, I'm beginning to think these guys aren't what they say."

"James, you heard what they said. No one else could know those things."

"Maybe they used dark magic, pulled it from our heads. I don't know...but they're obviously trying to trick us."

Sirius shook his head. "Sorry, mate, but I buy it all. No one could pull something like this off. Face it. That is your son and your grandchildren."

James ran a hand through his hair. "But it's not possible, Sirius. Time turners are the only explanation and they don't send people back forty years!"

Sirius placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "If it will make you feel better, we can talk to Alice about it. She's an unspeakable, she'll know."

"What did Dumbledore say?"

Sirius shrugged. "Wasn't in his office. I talked to Minerva. She said he was out of contact for the day."

"You didn't explain that it was rather serious?"

"Relax, we can handle this for an hour or two."

James snorted, his attention back on listening for the others. "Yeah right."

* * *

Teddy spun on the spot slowly, absorbing the room.

"So this is the Hollow?"

Harry rested his hand on Ted's shoulder. "It's not the Hollow yet, mate. Ginny and I completely re-did the cottage after we got married. I started having it restored structurally right after the war."

Albus nodded. "Yeah it's like the feeling is the same, but I know if I go upstairs the bunk room for us kids won't be there and the treehouse outside won't be there..."

"Treehouse?"

Harry and his boys turned to see James and Sirius walk into the room, coats on.

"Yeah, Harry and I built a treehouse one summer when Jamie was a baby."

Sirius nodded at Teddy with a smile before looking at Harry. "Ready to go?"

They gathered around as James held out a rusty can that began to glow. Each man laid a finger on it and felt the all-familiar tug.

Teddy fell down onto wet grass. He stood up, looking at his godfather who was helping up Jamie and Al. Ted turned and found himself smiling up at his home away from home. The castle was exactly like the one in his time. Nothing had changed the war weathered stone. They were standing outside the open gates.

James motioned for them to move. "C'mon, we're going to be late."

"Minnie nearly had my hide for the last time." Sirius winced.

Al and Jamie followed up behind him with a snicker. Their beloved leader was just how they imagined from their childhood stories. Teddy took notice and thought back to his own bedtime stories from Harry. He had been lucky in being the first baby because everyone was eager to share stories, particularly about his parents.

James pushed open the large front doors. "We meet in the Great Hall."

Teddy shared a glance with Harry. They knew this was a test. James and Sirius were suddenly lagging in the back. They wanted to see if the time travelers were accustomed to Hogwarts.

Teddy came to the doors of the Great Hall, feeling a thousand images fly through his mind. Times of meeting Victoire, catching Weasleys that were out of bounds, fighting with other students...His entire life happened at Hogwarts.

James came up behind him and pushed open the doors. Inside was a table full of people Teddy knew only from his History of Magic textbook.

* * *

Harry released the breath he had been holding. He walked in slowly, trying to focus on his sons, and not his dead mother staring at him like the enemy. He ticked off a list of names: Alice and Frank Longbottom, Mad-Eye Moody, Edgar Bones, Marlene McKinnon, Benjy Fenwick, Caradoc Dearborn, Fabian and Gideon Prewett, Hagrid, Dorcas Meadows, Molly and Arthur Weasley, Minerva McGonagall, Remus Lupin, and Albus Dumbledore.

Six of them were still alive in 2022. And two of them had been residents of St. Mungo's for forty years. Last he had visited with Neville, his old friend had said they were falling ill more and more frequently and that it was a matter of time before he lost them physically.

No one said a word as they sat down. After a moment, Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"Mister Potter, Mister Black, care to explain who your familiar looking friends are?"

"They appeared in my study this afternoon."

"They what?"

James looked to his wife who was watching him in disbelief.

Harry could sense the rumblings and murmuring spreading through the group. Dumbledore held up both hands and his gaze locked with Harry's. He smiled as he felt the gently probe skim his top thoughts.

_Afraid not, Albus. I will show you this, though._

He watched as his former mentor's lips parted. He was struggling to control the emotion he was feeling.

"Sorry, Sir. I knew that was the only way."

All eyes were on Dumbledore, bouncing back to Harry occasionally.

The Headmaster cracked a faint smile, his twinkle back in his eyes. "I am now very curious to know who you are. That's a memory only three people should have and one of them is dead."

"I'm not from this time. I'm from the year 2022. If my math is correct, my mother won't be expecting my birth for several more months."

"Interesting."

Mad-Eye scoffed. He had an eye on Dumbledore and the magical one aimed directly at Harry. "Surely you don't believe this rubbish, Albus?"

Dumbledore nodded. "I believe it is entirely possible for a magical accident to occur. I believe Misses Longbottom can confirm this."

Not waiting for any other responses, Dumbledore leaned forward, staring at Harry. "I have a wonderful idea of who you are and I must admit it thrills me. But the other young men with you?"

Harry rested a hand on Teddy's shoulder. "This is my godson, and these other two are my sons."

"How old are you boys, or men I should say?"

"I'm twenty-five."

"Seventeen next month."

"Fifteen."

"Delightful ages, I admit. Were you members of the Order in the future?"

Harry furrowed his brow. "That's delicate ground, you see. I was underage when there was an Order."

"What happens to the Order?" Sirius burst out.

"I don't know if I can answer that question." He never broke contact with Dumbledore. He felt the probe entering his mind again and he let him in this time.

_It should be safe._

Harry nodded. "Honestly? There wasn't much left of the Order. It went underground for a while, but it ended with the war."

"The war ends?"

Harry slowly turned to look at his mother, fighting with his instincts. "Yes." He took a deep breath. "I want you to know this future world is very, very different. Pure blooded prejudices are a thing of the past, dark magic is confined to experiments within the ministry and old books, the world is safe again."

Dumbledore chuckled for a brief moment.

Mad-Eye looked at Harry. "This work will pay off?"

"In about seventeen years or so, yes. But I won't paint you a pretty picture. It's going to get a hundred times worse."

"How?"

Harry looked at his godfather, the memory of him falling through the veil flashing through his mind. "Almost every person in this room is going to die."

He could feel his son visibley tense. He knew Jamie and Al were upset and confused being in this unknown world. And to hear their father speak so bluntly about the war.

"How will end?"

It was his father. "When I'm seventeen."

"No how?"

Harry bit down on his bottom lip. "I didn't complete my years at Hogwarts. I spent my seventh year...working to defeat Voldemort." He ignored the intakes of breath. "But I come back to Hogwarts for the Final Battle."

"The end happens here?"

"Yes."

"So how does it happen?"

"Simple. He used Avada Kedavra and I used Expelliarmus. He's dead and I'm not. That's how it ended."

Sirius jumped from his seat. "That's it, I'm tired of this shit. Albus, if you don't get rid of these guys, I will."

Harry stood up slowly and looked at his godfather. "Sirius sit down."

"No! Who do you think you are? You come here spouting tales of the future claiming you defeated Voldemort at seventeen? You're just some delusional punk. You haven't even told us your name!"

His anger snapped in that instant. Harry rose his voice, speaking deeper and louder. "I am Harry Potter. I have not been born yet but when I was a year old I witnessed my parents' murders. I survived the killing curse. I lived in an abusive household for ten years. I saved the Sorcerer's Stone at eleven. At twelve I entered the Chamber of Secrets and killed a basilisk. At thirteen I saved _you_ from about a hundred dementors and _then_ saved you from getting thrown into Azkaban. At fourteen, I faced merpeople, grindylows, dragons and was tortured. Then I had to watch my friend's murder and duel Voldemort. When I was fifteen I lead a secret society in a break-in at the ministry where we held off Death Eaters while we waited for _your_ Order to come. Then at sixteen I spent an entire school year working with Dumbledore before I carried him back from one of our missions. I then fought in a battle and watched a man I had trusted murder him. I gave up my seventh year to travel across the country where I broke into a corrupt ministry, faced snatchers and then stole from a high security vault at Gringotts which ended in me flying out on a dragon. I then fought in the largest magical battle in history before walking to my death and facing the killing curse again."

He was yelling by now. "I then had to make the decision to return to life so I could kill Voldemort and rebuild the magical world. I was the youngest senior Auror in fifty years and the youngest Head Auror ever. I have raised four kids and been married for over twenty-two years. So don't you dare call me some delusional punk."

Knowing he had to cool off before his magic acted up, he turned and walked swiftly from the Hall, feeling more anger and frustration than when he was a fifteen year old kid.

* * *

A/N: Nothing like I expected when I sat down to write this. However my thoughts when writing Harry's outburst were that Sirius, someone very important to Harry, was writing him off. Harry's going through an extremely dark time with his illness. The only thing that had kept him going the past few days was knowing he would be with kids and wife like normal.


	6. Kings and Queens

_"A darkness comes and all_

_These lessons that we've learned here_

_Have only just begun"_

_Kings and Queens by 30 Seconds to Mars_

Sirius Black sat in amazement. From the future. He had a godson. And James and Lily have a baby and then grandchildren. It was incredible.

But they were going to die. Sirius knew to expect that, he knew it was a possibility. But he didn't want it to be true. While he believed this man, Harry, was who he said he was, he didn't really want to believe that everyone would die.

Picturing a life without James and Lily started to take over his mind. The more questions Harry answered, the more pain Sirius felt. He couldn't lose James. James Potter was the only family he had left. He couldn't just let him die?

_Maybe this guy isn't really Harry Potter? Maybe he isn't who he says he is? Maybe I'm just being gullible?_

Sirius took several deep breaths, his eyes jumping from James to Lily and back to Harry. Then Harry started discussing Voldemort.

_No child should ever have to endure that. I must be a failure. I can't protect a boy from a prophecy. This isn't right. James and Lily can not die._

He wanted it to stop. He didn't want to hear it anymore. He wanted him to go back to his time. He didn't want anyone to know about what just happened.

_I can't let the Order trust them. They need to leave. And I need to protect my friends._

Sirius leapt up, shouting out his feelings. He could see the anger in Harry's eyes and realized he inherited Lily's temper. But he had to get rid of them, they had to go.

"No! Who do you think you are? You come here spouting tales of the future claiming you defeated Voldemort at seventeen? You're just some delusional punk. You haven't even told us your name!"

He thought he had gotten him there. Mad-Eye would be all over them now. But he wasn't expecting the rant that came next.

After Harry had left the Great Hall, Sirius sank back into his seat and took a shaky breath.

"I thought you believed them?"

He looked up at James' curious hazel eyes. "I do." He murmured.

A loud clearing of the throat gained everyone's attention. Dumbledore was looking thoughtful behind his templed fingers.

"I think this was a bit much for everyone tonight. Molly, Arthur, if I'm not mistaken you recently added on to your home?"

Arthur nodded. "Two new bedrooms, for the baby and one so Charlie wouldn't have to share with Percy anymore."

"Then, if you consent, the time travelers would be able to stay with you?"

Molly nodded and then smiled at the boys. "We'd love to have you, I hope you don't mind children. Our youngest, Fred and George, they can be a handful."

Sirius noticed the younger two appeared to be hiding grins after Molly's statement.

Dumbledore smiled. "Very well then. All is settled, yes?"

"Hold on!" Mad-Eye barked. "Sirius, though very uncharacteristically, did have a point. We don't know your names."

Teddy rubbed the back of his head. "Well, you heard Harry. He's James and Lily's son."

"And the rest of you?"

"Well, I'm his godson, Teddy. And these two are his sons, Jamie and Albus."

Mad-Eye seemed to accept the answers and Sirius could literally feel the buzzing going around the table. Everyone had a million questions, but no one was ready to voice them.

Sirius ran a hand through his hair, feeling the uncomfortable gaze of his three best friends.

* * *

Albus Severus Potter grinned up at his grandmother. She was forty years younger and pregnant, but she had that same endearing smile he had grown up with.

"Now, you said your name was Jamie? And you're Teddy, and this one is Albus. All right, I think I got it. We have five boys. Bill is eight, Charlie is six, Percy is three, and the twins, Fred and George are nineteen months. I hope you won't feel overwhelmed by them."

Albus tried to picture his uncles as small children. He couldn't imagine big Uncle Charlie as a tiny boy.

He looked uncomfortably at his older brothers, but their blank faces provided no sympathy; they were as lost as he was.

"Where did your father run off to?" Grandad questioned. Arthur, not Grandad. This was going to be difficult.

Teddy shrugged. "He'll find us, that's for certain. It's actually funny Dumbledore sent us to The Burrow."

Arthur's brow furrowed. "So you know us in the future?"

Jamie smiled softly. "Let's just say we are very, very close."

With a smile, Arthur offered his arm. "Anyone need a lift or can everyone apparate themselves?"

"I can't, but Teddy will take me along." Al reached out and grabbed the wizard's arm and closing his eyes.

When he opened them again, they were gathered at the apparation point of the Weasley family home. Albus felt calm being somewhere he always knew to be safe. He silently hoped his father would find them. While Teddy had seemed extremely confident that Dad would, Albus was still concerned.

"Arthur, would you walk Helen home?"

Before Al could ask who Helen was, the door opened and sitting at the kitchen table was an elderly woman, knitting furiously.

"Hello, Helen, I trust Bill and Charlie went to bed all right? The others didn't wake?" Molly questioned, pulling off her scarf and coat.

The woman began to pack up his knitting. "The small ones starting wailing, but Bill and Charlie took care of it. Good lads, they are."

"I'm glad to hear." Arthur picked up the bag and offered his arm. "Let's get you home, shall we? We can't tell you enough how grateful we are you were able to watch the kids."

Albus watched Arthur lead the elderly woman out into the night. He turned back around and stared blankly at his Grandmother, unsure of what would happen.

Teddy cleared his throat and Molly smiled, gesturing to the table. "Would you like tea?"

The three boys sat, their tension very clear to Molly. She pulled several chipped mugs from the cupboard, peering around at her guests.

"Now, I understand it's been a difficult day for you three, but you can talk to me? You say we know each other in the future, why don't you tell me about that while I fix the tea."

"Can we have your hot chocolate instead?"

Albus was surprised by Jamie's request. His blood brother had always held up the tough exterior. It scared Albus, to see James facing so much emotion. Gran's hot chocolate was just what they all needed.

"I think your hot chocolate is exactly what we need, Molly." Teddy murmured, staring down at his hands.

She stared at the oldest boy for a moment before filling the kettle and gathering the ingredients. Molly then sat down, her hand on her growing belly.

"Do you all have any bags?"

Albus scratched his head thoughtfully. "I don't know. Probably not."

The boys were all quiet, occasionally looking at each other, as if someone would come up with an answer for everything. Molly pursed her lips.

"Are we close enough that you're afraid the future will be altered?"

They all nodded. Albus ran his finger along a crack in the table, realizing the table was the same table that remained in his proper time period. He looked up at his Gran. "So close that we'd be terrified to even be in the room with you."

Molly's expression saddened a bit and she reached out to grab Al's hand, giving it a light squeeze.

"Can you promise me that Fred and George will get easier to handle when they're older?"

Albus wanted to cry. He had never met his Uncle Fred. While Uncle George tried to talk about him constant, their grandmother always teared up when his name was mentioned.

"They get worse. But I wouldn't worry about any of your children." Teddy tried to smile, but it was short lived.

All three boys felt so vulnerable. If there was one person they could never lie to it was Molly Weasley. They're father, who had provided almost all of the strength for them, had ran off in a rage. They were away from the rest of their family, in an unknown world.

And Harry Potter was still slowly dying.

The door swung opened just as the kettle whistled. Arthur deposited his hat on the hook by their coats and grinned. "Hot chocolate? Excellent!"

Molly ignored his arrival, her eyes jumped from the boys, examining their features. Her mouth opened for a moment and her eyes froze on Jamie. Albus shifted uncomfortably. Their Gran had eyes like a hawk. And while Al was carbon copy of his father, James was a combination of Potter and Weasley, though with much more Potter of course. But that didn't hide the cheek bones, the nose, the few features that were distinctly Weasley.

"You boys are Harry Potter's sons?"

They nodded.

"Tell me, do you know if our next child is a girl or not?"

Teddy straightened in his seat. "It's a boy."

Molly seemed taken aback and her suspicion evaporated. Arthur eased himself into the seat next to his wife and passed out the mugs.

"For a moment I thought you may be my grandchildren. It was silly, I know." She chuckled. "There's no way you could have Weasley blood and not be a redhead."

Albus felt sweat coating his palms. He wanted his father. And his mother. He felt terrified. What if something happened? What if they couldn't go home?

"Oh, Molly, you just want a daughter so badly." Arthur brushed hair out of his wife's face.

Albus looked at the disappointment in his Gran's eyes. He didn't want her to suffer.

"You'll have one, don't worry."

Teddy kicked him from under the table and Al gritted his teeth and turned to Ted. "Look, you and I both know we won't be able to keep quiet. If something happens, we can always memory charm them!"

"No!" Teddy hissed. "Are you an unspeakable? No! So, you don't know anything about this! Look, if you can't keep quiet, take your drink and go upstairs!"

Al balled his hands into fists. He hated it when Teddy took charge like he was some big shot auror. When he and James were kids it was all right, but they were graduating school soon, they weren't kids.

Still, he obeyed, knowing it would be what his father would have wanted. He grabbed the mug and left the room, only to pause on the second landing, his eyes glued on the tiny, sleeping, red headed twins.

* * *

"James, go make sure he's okay."

Jamie nodded and, taking his mug with him, left the kitchen.

Teddy looked up at Molly and Arthur. "This isn't exactly a good time for us right now. I mean, in the future, things got a little difficult for us recently. We're all taking it pretty hard."

"I take it you aren't allowed to share anything about that?"

Ted shook his head, and stared down into the now empty mug. "My grandmother would being me over to play here and in the winter you would always make this for all the kids."

Molly's eyes were moist. "Lots of grandchildren?"

"Did you honestly think with as many kids as you have that there would even be a possibility of not having a ton of grandkids?"

Arthur chuckled. "Not really. It's still nice to hear it."

Nodding, Teddy pushed his mug back. "I should get to bed and talk to the boys. Harry should be back before midnight. He never takes more than a few hours to himself."

With a final goodnight, Teddy left the kitchen.

* * *

Harry tossed his cigarette onto the ground and stomped it out. Ginny would kill him if she found out he was still sneaking smokes. He had begun the habit as a young auror and quickly ended it when Ginny gave him an ultimatum about it. He still kept a pack in his rucksack for missions though.

He was standing in the woods of the Burrow. He knew Dumbledore would send them with Molly and Arthur. It was the only place that wouldn't raise suspicions. He was grateful. The familiar environment would be good for the boys.

Sirius' words still vibrated through his head. Harry knew his godfather believed him still. But he also knew that once so many deaths and Voldemort was brought into things, he would try and turn it around. It was the Sirius way of the past. His godfather was currently a young adult, a kid really, younger than Teddy.

Harry sighed and pulled his coat around his neck. Snow was beginning to fall; he needed to get inside.

The door was unlocked and he carefully stepped into the dark kitchen. Light suddenly filled the room. Harry didn't bother pulling his wand; he turned to smile at his in-laws. With a sigh, he slipped into a chair on the opposite side of the table, facing Molly and Arthur.

"Feel better, Sir?"

Harry chuckled. "Sir? Arthur, it took me years to stop calling you Mr. Weasley. Please call me Harry, or son even would be better. Remember in my world, you're more than forty years older."

Molly blinked, uncomfortable. "I can't imagine being that old."

"Believe me, for years I had no plans to live past seventeen and now I'm forty two. It's a wild world sometimes."

"The boys are all asleep upstairs. Or at least trying to."

"They're probably having a hard time imagining their uncles as infants."

Molly's eyes widened. "Uncles?"

Harry smiled and pulled out his wallet. "Guess I'm a rotten secret keeper." He placed a family photo from the last Weasley reunion on the table. "The reason the boys know you all so well is because you're their grandparents."

Arthur and Molly stared at the photo in amazement. "I can't even count how many people there are!"

Molly's head snapped back up. "Wait...if your kids are...we have a daughter?"

"I thought you said this was Ronald?" Arthur gestured to his wife's swollen belly.

Harry nodded. "You think you two stop at six? No, seven is a much nicer number. Ginny won't be arriving for another year...plus nine months."

"A little girl? And you're our son-in-law? I don't even have my daughter yet and she's already married off with kids of her own..." Arthur murmured, staring at the photo in amazement.

Before they could find all of their children in the photo, Harry reached out and retrieved it. He was going to do his best to avoid the Fred situation.

He lifted his gaze to see his father-in-law looking nervous. "Why did you come back in time?"

Harry shrugged. "Strange things always happen to me. Hopefully Dumbledore will think of something. Did you all discuss things further after I left?"

"Not really. He seemed to have something on his mind though and not too concerned. Alice Longbottom may know something."

"Yeah, I always thought she was an auror?"

"She was, with her husband. She switched departments rather recently. Not sure why really."

Molly seemed distracted with her mug of tea. She glanced up at Harry. "Teddy said that something happened recently that was upsetting everyone? They wouldn't say anything, but..."

Harry closed his eyes. "I need your word on this that you won't repeat it." He opened his eyes again, looking at them gravely. They both nodded.

"I'm an auror as you know and I work with the ICW. I went on a mission a few months back and was cursed. Long story short, I'm dying. I have maybe two years left."

Both Weasleys were speechless for a moment before Arthur spoke. "What curse was it?"

"It inflicts muggle disease. Ever heard of cancer? I'm going to slowly deteriorate in front of my family. My kids are angry and confused, my wife is depressed and my best friends are miserable. And now I'm not even in the right time period."

"What are you planning to do?"

Harry felt more equal with his father-in-law than ever before. "I just need to go home and be with the rest of my family before I'm incapable of feeding myself. You don't understand, my mind is going to be the first thing to go."

Molly wiped away tears. "You must not give up hope. That's all we have."

The ghost of a smile crossed Harry's face. "You know I've survived the killing curse twice? Yeah. I've always been able to face death since I was a boy. But now, in this moment, I don't think I can face anything."

Harry dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. "I think I need some sleep."

"C'mon, we'll show you up."

He followed Molly and Arthur upstairs. It was like he was twelve and coming to stay with them for the first time. He paused at the door of what would become Ginny's bedroom. The door was cracked. Harry pushed it open, revealing a sleeping Bill.

"After the final battle, I was rounding up the last of Voldemort's Death Eaters. One tried to attack Ginny and I just lost it. I dragged the man by the neck and just starting beating him. I broke both of my hands and my knuckles were bleeding. The man was unconscious of course...Bill was the one to pull me away and calm me down. As the oldest brother, he's always the one to keep the peace. Him and Charlie."

Harry turned to the pale faces of his surrogate parents. "You're children are going to be the force in this war. This generation," he gestured to Bill. "We are the warriors. Ask any one of us and we can share our own personal war story.

"But we're also the generation to fix it all. We all get married and have kids in a peaceful time. The only things my kids know about the war is what I tell them or what they read in their history books. They'll never have to live in fear like this."

Harry didn't say another word as he brushed past the red heads, determined to find his room on his own.


	7. Pictures of You

_This is the war that's never won_  
_This is a soldier and his gun_  
_This is the mother waiting by the phone,_  
_Praying for her son_

_Pictures of You by The Last Goodnight_

Teddy opened his eyes and found himself staring up a familiar ceiling. In the future this room had belonged to Percy. Oddly enough, even forty years later, this bedroom was the go to room for the grandkids to bunk in together. That and Ginny's old room for the girls.

The room was crowded with the extra cot placed between the two beds. Albus and Jamie were both asleep, mouths open as they breathed in a near identical rhythm. Maneuvering his legs carefully through the small space, he made his way to the door and slipped out.

While he had spent hundreds of nights at the Burrow, walking down the stairs in his pajamas in the late seventies was plain unnerving. He could hear the giggles and cries of the Weasley boys and once he stepped onto the foot of the stairs he was faced with five pairs of wide, blue eyes. He nearly fell over at the sight.

"Er, morning." He muttered.

No words were spoken, not even by the twins, mere infants. Ted shook his head and swiftly moved through the living room to enter the kitchen.

"Morning, cub."

His godfather was sitting at the table right in between Arthur and Molly. He had a _Daily_ _Prophet_ in one hand and a chipped coffee mug in the other. Teddy opened his mouth to speak, but Molly was up and shoving him down into a chair.

"You must be starving, what can I get you?"

Not waiting for an answer, she bustled about the kitchen, pulling out plates and cutlery. Teddy sighed, looking at Harry and waiting for an explanation.

Finally sensing his godson's desires apparently, he set the paper down and took a sip of his coffee before speaking. "I've decided to let things fall where they may. After breakfast, I'm going to Hogwarts to work with Dumbledore. We're going to try and find the reasoning behind this mess. You can come if you wish, however, I would very much like for you to stay with James and Al."

His eyes stayed on Harry's green orbs, trying to read his emotions. He looked tired, as if he hadn't slept in years - that kind of tired. A single strand of grey hair stood out in his black locks and Ted wondered when that had occurred. Was it the disease? Most of all, how could he look so damn calm and adjusted? Teddy felt his head spinning and he had no idea how he was supposed to act. He didn't know what he could and couldn't say, or who he was even allowed to interact with. His parents were _alive_. His mother was just a small child. The fact that Harry was sitting at the breakfast table, reading the paper and drinking coffee like it was another normal Sunday was simply baffling.

"Wazzup?"

A groggy voice captured everyone's attention and Ted turned to see Jamie rubbing the sleep from his hazel eyes. Suddenly Molly pounced on him, arms flying around him and trying to pull him as close as her pregnant belly would allow.

Jamie stood rigid, confused eyes darting from Teddy to his father. "Good morning?"

Harry cleared his throat. "I told them last night. Figured it would save us some trouble."

"See, Teddy, you didn't need to go bonkers on Al last night."

Teddy felt green eyes narrowing at him, but his godfather said nothing. Jamie fell into the seat beside him and gave him a friendly nudge in greeting. There was one thing he could always count on with his god-brother, silent and barely coherent in the mornings. Coffee had been discovered by Jamie when he was fourteen. The daily ritual never failed to bring him among the living. The fact that he had managed a single smart comment was a miracle.

"We're having another meeting tonight. The Longbottoms are being kind enough to host dinner." Arthur finally spoke. "The last one didn't go as smoothly as hoped, so Albus feels this will clear the air."

Harry nodded. "Which is why he and I will be researching to make sure it's safe to pass along information. There are two types of time travel," his words were directed at his sons now. "Aunt Hermione believes this without a doubt, so it's probably right. The first kind is what you come across with time turners. That changes the course of events so-to-speak. To be honest, you have to experience it first hand to understand what I mean." He was clearly referring to his third year.

"The second type is impossible to change. It doesn't matter if I tell everyone the exact manner in which they will die. They will still die, maybe in a different way, but they will die nonetheless."

Teddy nodded. "You think this is the second."

"I think so long as we remain vague with what we say, there should be no problems."

The idea that nothing could be changed was unsettling. His thoughts immediately went to his parents, the image of seeing his father, the same age as himself, staring at him across the table. There was no way he could save his life. On the other hand, that also meant there was no way he could scare his father away from his mother. She couldn't be more than seven or eight years old in this time.

Was that something he could face? Sitting down and having a discussion with his mother as a small child, maybe meeting the grandfather whose name he shared. Just the tired face of Remus Lupin in the Great Hall last night still clouded his thoughts. It was a world known only in the history books and family stories. Teddy had been three days old when his godfather defeated Tom Riddle. Three days old when both of his parents had died fighting.

He tried not to think about his parents too much. Stories from Harry and his Gran were treats and he enjoyed them, but Remus and Tonks Lupin were just that. Stories. The last time he had really pondered what they had been like as people had been months ago, weeks before he had broken things off with Victoire. They had spent the night at her small, muggle flat in London...

_Her breath came in long, steady motions, like a series of individual sighs. He intwined his fingers in her strawberry blonde locks, his eyes watching hers as she lay on his chest. The warmth was soothing, the sensual feeling of her skin against his. It seemed like every time he awoke to her body along his it was more magical than before._

_Slender fingers came up to his messy hair which he knew must be turquoise, as it always seemed to be when they were wrapped around one another. He allowed his eyes to close and she massaged just above his ear, her thumb ghosting around his temple._

"_What are you thinking about?"_

_The question threw him. He opened his eyes, finding her blue ones tilted in curiosity. Vic was the one person, save for Harry, who never had to ask him that. They always knew. He kept his one hand in her hair and used the other to pull her forward in a chaste kiss. Shifting a bit so her body was completely on top, molded into his form, she allowed her fingers to dance across his lips, patiently waiting for an answer._

"_Honestly?" Sighing, he let his head fall back, still enjoying the ministrations of her hand in his hair and the other caressing his lips and cheek. "My parents."_

_He was cautious, glancing down at her with his eyes half open. Her demeanor hadn't changed; she maintained her gaze._

"_Sometimes, I just wonder how much I'm like them."_

_Her felt her take in a breath. "Well, Uncle Harry says-"_

"_That's the thing!" He sat up abruptly, pushing her away gently. "That's all I know! It's like I do something around everyone and someone makes the comment, 'That's so like Tonks.' Or 'Amazing how much of Remus is in him.' They all say it so casually, because they _know_!"_

_She still didn't speak. She crossed her legs and scooted close so that they were still touching, silently telling him to continue._

"_How am I supposed to know when I say something that reminds them of my father? I never met him, I just know from stories." He gripped his brighter than normal hair, tugging at it in frustration. "Like, when Aunt Hermione comments on Al, saying how much like Harry he is, everyone knows what she's talking about. Harry knows and so does Albus. But when they compare me to my parents, I have no idea what they're talking about! Yes, I get that my father was the quiet, studious type like me, and that my sometimes inappropriate humor is from my mum, but I don't really _know_ these things."_

_Her head was cocked to the side, eyes watching him calculatingly. He nodded to her, signaling he was finished._

"_I don't suppose watching them in a pensieve helps?"_

"_When I got my first Hogwarts letter, Harry showed me a memory of them for the first time. He started collecting them when I was a baby." He smiled, thinking of his godfather scavenging for the best moments people spent with the Lupins. "Every year whenever I got my letter and again at Christmas, he showed me a few new ones, or I picked a favorite. After I graduated, he started showing them to me on my birthday."_

"_But it's not the same."_

"_It's not the same." He echoed, eyes on the ceiling of her bedroom, fan blades spinning slowly._

"_I wish I could say something to make you feel better about this, but I know nothing will. So you'll have to settle for the usual speech." He smiled weakly, listening to her intently. "Your parents were heroes, and I've never heard anyone not agree with that statement. Think about all the people who took care of you when you were little, just because of how much they admired your parents. Merlin, you called the minister of magic Uncle King!"_

_A rare laugh bubbled up in his throat, her words warming his heart like no one else could. _

"_So, I'm telling you, Teddy Remus Lupin, that you are the creation of two amazing people and I thank them every day for the fact that I get to lay in this bed with you." Her hands cupped his face. "I love you so much."_

_His hands came up the back of her neck and slid into her hair, pulling her face to his, their foreheads touching and her breath on his lips. "I love you, and I'll love you forever. Never forget that, Victoire, never forget that."_

"_I won't."_

Her promise rang through his thoughts, so loudly that he never heard Jamie and Al trying to get his attention.

"Is he having some sort of attack?"

Eyes flashed red as they shot to his youngest god-brother; Albus scooted back in his seat. "Sorry, Teds, you were out of it. Didn't even notice me walk in, did ya?"

His hands burned with the memory of holding Victoire so many months ago. Shaking his head, his eyes found Harry who was gazing at him intently. To his godfather, he had always been transparent as glass. Which is why Teddy felt his cheeks heat at the penetrating stare he was receiving. Those emerald eyes clearly read, 'we'll talk later.'

Conversation flittering across the table for several minutes without Ted absorbing a word. Arthur left for work and Molly spent a few long moments tending to the boys before sending them to play in the garden and enjoy the fresh snow.

He nearly jumped when a steaming cup of coco was set before him. Looking up, he saw Molly smiling kindly down at him. "I know you had some last night, but...never can have too much right?"

Jamie let out a happy groan, his mouth full of waffles. "Gran, I love you more every day."

"I'm not sure if I'm ready for this grandmother business. Especially considering your mother won't be born for some time."

Harry chuckled, tossing aside his newspaper for good this time it seemed. He carried his empty mug to the sink and kissed Molly's cheek. "Can you settle for being my favorite mother-in-law then?"

She blushed, her eyes darting to the floor. "Oh, I suppose..."

"Dad, she's like half your age." Al snorted, sharing a look with his brother.

"Calling me old, are you?"

"Most definitely, old man."

Laughter filled the kitchen and Harry ruffled Al's hair affectionately. "I'm off to the school. Don't try and get back at your uncles for anything they do in the future."

Jamie's expression grew thoughtful. "Hadn't thought of that. I could get back at Uncle Percy for taking my broom away that one time."

"You were trying to fly over the house. With his _nine year old_ on the broom with you."

"She wanted to come!" He defended, earning a resigned look from his father.

"I mean it. Don't discuss anything more serious than Quidditch and household spells while I'm gone. And try to help Molly out a bit."

Teddy chuckled, the warm chocolate cheering him up considerably. Sharing a glance with the two Potter boys, the threesome spoke together: "Yes, Dad."

With a last grin, Harry left the house, with Molly on his heels to keep a closer watch on her sons flinging snow balls at one another. Ted drained his hot chocolate in another gulp and found himself finally noticing the dire looks on the boys beside him.

"What?"

Al stared at him steadily. "Have you thought about your parents?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I." It wasn't a question, the other boys knew it and Teddy knew they were concerned.

"You two can relax. I'm fine."

"No. You haven't been fine in months, Teds, everyone can see that. Hell, you were on the verge of proposing to Vic and then suddenly you wanted to 'focus on your career.' Bullshit."

"James, just drop it. I'm dealing with it."

Albus shook his head. "You weren't dealing with it before. You certainly weren't dealing with it after we found out Dad's dying, and now you're in a world where your parents are alive-"

"_I fucking know!_"

Al looked taken aback, but he took a deep breath, speaking again. "All we're trying to say is, we're your brothers. We're here for you."

Teddy rubbed his hand along his face, sighing. "I know, and I'm sorry I'm so snappy, just...just give me some space, all right?"

Not waiting for an answer, he stood up, taking his cup to the sink before marching back upstairs, planning to wait out the day in his room.

"Prongs?"

James looked up, seeing Sirius and Remus standing by the door, both wearing concerned faces. He was leaning against the closed door to his and Lily's bathroom, the distant sound of her being sick causing him to wince.

"Is she...?" Remus's voice was tentative.

James sighed, nodding his head and pulling his knees up to his chest. "Looks like that really is my future son." He paused. "And he inherits my poor math skills apparently."

The corners of Remus's mouth turned upward slightly. "I think, given the magnitude of it, that we can forgive him for miscounting the months."

Sirius came forward and slid to the floor beside his brother in everything but blood. "What do you think, mate?"

"I think my wife is pregnant and we only have a few years left to live. Sounds like you two have a bit more time though."

"He never mentioned me." Remus pointed out, sitting on the floor as well. "Has anyone heard from Peter?"

Sirius nodded. "Owl came the other day. He says tracking this bloke is getting tricky and it may take longer than a month. Reckons he'll miss Christmas. Shame, but his rat form makes him good at it."

"Let's make sure we keep stressing to everyone that he simply has a talent for appearance charms." Remus added.

Silence followed. All three men absorbed in thoughts of what they had learned the previous evening. James didn't know what to think. Just days ago he and Lily had been discussing having children after the war. And then their future son and grandkids appeared to tell them they would be dead soon.

And all of those things Harry had claimed he had done. The basilisk, dueling Voldemort...surviving the killing curse _twice_. It didn't sound like the life of a child, of a teenager marauding his way through Hogwarts.

"Sirius, Harry said he lived in an abusive household for ten years. If Lily and I...well, you're the godfather, and even if something happened to you, there's Remus, and Peter, there's the Longbottoms...I mean, who could he have lived with that would ever abuse him?"

"I've been thinking about that too. Thinking about it a lot." He turned to their werewolf friend. "Your thoughts on this fabulously pleasant discovery, Moony?"

Remus shrugged. "They smell familiar, except the older boy. He smelled...I dunno, animal like or something."

"Animagus, you think?"

"Maybe. It's just...his scent is unlike anything I've smelled before. Different from Sirius, yet similar. A bit like a werewolf, but not. I don't know how to describe it."

"Maybe we can get some more answers tonight at-" James was cut off by the door opening abruptly, sending him onto the floor at his wife's feet. He groaned, blinking up at her. "Hello, love, feeling better?"

She took a deep breath. "Do you have to ask?"

"No, but..." He crawled to his feet and grabbed her hands. He could see the distress in her eyes. Eyes that he had now seen on two other people.

Remus and Sirius got to their feet as well, both seemingly unsure as to if they should speak. Lily moved between them to sit on the bed. Her eyes darted from James to their friends and back again. "What do you think of all this?"

"I think we need the whole story."

She nodded, her lips pressed together tightly. "You need to apologize for your little outburst."

Sirius sighed, his crossed arms falling to his sides. "Can you blame me for freaking out a bit?"

"You were the one trying to convince _me_ to believe them, Padfoot." James reminded, taking a seat next to Lily on their bed.

"There's no point arguing." Remus said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Let's just get to the meeting, yeah? Besides, Lily, you need to tell Alice you're both throwing up at all hours of the day."

A smile formed on her lips. "I wonder if Harry knows their son."

Sirius held out his hand to help her to her feet. "C'mon, let's get to this meeting. Frankie and Alice are actually feeding us. And I promise to be on my best behavior."

James grinned, standing with his beautiful wife and taking in her laugh. Knowing he wouldn't live for much longer made everything about her that much more beautiful and amazing. Including the little life growing inside her.

* * *

A/N: This was originally a six thousand word chapter, but I decided it was just too long, so I broke it in half. That, of course, now means the next chapter will be up pretty soon. Please review and let me know what you think thus far. Tons of love to you all!


	8. Into the Fire

_I'm looking in, way down_  
_The lights are dim_  
_and now I'm alone I'm looking out_  
_I'm looking in, way down_  
_The lights are dim_

_Into the Fire by Thirteen Senses_

* * *

A warm weight rested on his knee, causing him to look up from his book and grin. Fawkes trilled happily, his beak leaning forward in greeting. Harry reached out and gave the bird a tentative pet, amazed to see the phoenix after so many years.

"Does he always harbor such a warm regard for you?"

He glanced up to see Dumbledore's eyes twinkling back.

"Fawkes and I have some interesting memories together. Saved my life at one point. I've missed him."

The headmaster frowned slightly, but didn't appear saddened. "I always wondered if Fawkes would be like other phoenixes, following..." He trailed off.

"Their masters into the next great adventure. He sang at your funeral. After that..." Harry shrugged, watching as the golden bird flew back to his perch.

He looked down at the book he had been devouring for most of the afternoon. His head was pounding. When he had first arrived in the office, he had been battered with nostalgia and tried to exchange very few words with his old mentor. However, Dumbledore was more than willing to accept that he would die one day and that many others would as well. Harry supposed he had learned a good deal of that from the days of Grindelwald.

Wishing to stretch his legs, perhaps shake off the headache, and walk down memory lane a bit, he stood up and set the book on the desk. In comfortable silence, he walked to one of the small tables piled in instruments. He chuckled at the sight of one and picked it up.

"When I was fifteen I threw a right fit in here." He looked at Dumbledore in amusement. "I can distinctly remember taking this and throwing it. Gave Fawkes a good scare, I reckon."

"I suppose I do have too many things..."

Harry laughed loudly, feeling pure joy to share a real conversation with the headmaster again. He set the instrument down. "Funny, you said the same thing then too."

"Everything you have said, especially showing me that memory, has told me you and I are close. Well, until my death that is."

He sank back into his chair, his eyes finding the bit of empty wall space where Albus Dumbledore's portrait hung in less than eighteen years' time. Pushing away the sadness, he made eye contact with the elder wizard.

"Let's just say in my biography there's a chapter titled: 'Dumbledore's Man Through and Through.'" Then, as if he were immersed in his own memory, Fawkes released a low note that left Harry feeling a peaceful sadness. "And the first time I said that to you, Fawkes sang the same exact note."

He looked to the phoenix. "Was this your way of practicing? You've got seventeen years or so until next time, my friend."

"Harry, I understand you are dealing with a rather difficult experience right now, but...there is something else. Am I correct in that assumption?"

"You are." He leaned back in the chair, breathing in the familiar scent of the office. "I'm dying, Sir."

Fawkes sang a depressing tune, flying straight to Harry and settling on his thigh comfortably. Harry absentmindedly ran his fingers down the stunning plume of red and gold.

"An illness with no cure?"

He nodded. "Funny how I can survive battles and crazy murderers, yet my demise is from something as simple as disease."

"Disease is far from simple. At least in my experience. Are you quite certain there are no means to cure your ailment?"

"Fawkes isn't crying all over me, now is he? No, I'm going to die. It's strange being so... unprepared. I started planning my death when I was twelve and I was scarily accepting of it. Now, at forty-two, I'm kicking and screaming, desperate for a way out."

"I find that as we age, we begin to discover how truly blessed we are."

"My wife, my children...when I was a teenager I never considered myself as having any family. Believe me, I had incredible friends and people who cared for me. But it's different. Very different."

"Death will be a grand adventure I am sure."

Harry snorted, his eyes gleaming. "I've died before. Rather pleasant feeling actually. Didn't last. _You_ sent me straight back to the living world. Shame on you for that."

His headmaster chuckled, his beard twitching happily. "I will gladly take the blame for that matter, my friend. I would also love nothing more than to carry on our discussion of life and death, but I believe Mrs. Longbottom is preparing a marvelous supper as we speak."

He had never been to the Longbottom's home. Neville said it was destroyed the same night his parents had been tortured. Walking into the entrance with Dumbledore filled him with sadness and curiosity. Here he was, given the chance to interact with those who had died and he couldn't appreciate it at all. For years, Harry had dreamed of this kind of opportunity. But not when he was a year and some months away from spending his afterlife with them. Fate was cruel.

All three of his boys were hiding out in a small nook, dressed in the clothes they had arrived in yesterday. Teddy leapt up first, his hair a shocking green.

"So what are we going to say?"

Harry watched Dumbledore smile and walk through the door ahead into what sounded like the dining room. Smiling at his sons, he shrugged. "See what happens."

It seemed they were last to arrive. It was a smaller crowd than last night, a few members Harry had never known weren't present this time. Mad-Eye, McGonagall, The Longbottoms, his parents, Remus, the Prewitt brothers, and a woman he believed was Dorcas Meadows. He glanced around for Molly and Arthur before remembering they weren't actually members, too busy with the boys; he had a feeling their occasional presence had to with Molly's brothers.

Everyone was suddenly silent. Alice Longbottom cleared her throat and gestured to the section of empty seats directly across from his parents, Remus and Sirius. "Please, sit down."

Harry smiled and did as he was told, his eyes zooming in on Teddy who had chosen to sit across from Sirius and not his father. No one spoke a word.

Suddenly Jamie, who was directly across from Remus, spoke to the marauder. "So, I've always wanted to know, do you ever get the urge to howl at the moon? Or is that one of those things that's only during transformations?"

Harry had never wanted to smack his son's head more. Around the table he could sense everyone's bewilderment and for some, outrage at the possibly insulting comment.

Remus spluttered. "You aren't serious?"

His son smirked. "Actually I'm James, though Sirius _is_ my middle name."

Sirius Black burst into a loud laugh that earned him a glare from Minerva and an exasperated look from Lily. It took Harry and his son, Jamie, less than a second to succumb to the laughter as well and he found himself leaning against his son as he chuckled.

"I'm sorry, Moony, it's just-it's just that Jamie is so much like Sirius it's scary." He managed to say between laughs.

It took a moment, but he caught his breath and began muttering apologies to the general audience. Only his child could bring him a laugh when he so desperately needed it.

"I'm sorry, you all must have a thousand questions for me. I apologize for the outburst last night, this is just a bit overwhelming."

"My first question is what possessed you to name a child James Sirius?" Harry was happy to hear the question come from Remus.

"I needed a good laugh with the first born. Besides it fits his personality as you can see."

Jamie snorted. "Mum and Dad did good to make sure we all had high standards to live up to. Personally, I think I lucked out. _Albus_ here has big shoes to fill."

He gazed at his younger son who was seated between Jamie and Ted. Al groaned. "Two headmasters! _Two_!" He looked to his grandfather who was grinning in amusement. "Do you have any idea how hard is to be named after the, and I quote, 'bravest men I ever knew'? It's a bloody nightmare."

"It is a dreadful name I believe."

The words were spoken by a chuckling Dumbledore who was watching the scene in awe. Harry found that this exact moment to be so picturesque. His boys meeting so many important people, to be able to laugh with them, see their personalities. He glanced at Teddy who was grinning, his brown eyes hidden beneath a fringe of green hair. He wondered how he felt seeing his father, hearing him, a man he knew only from photographs and old memories of others.

"Wait, two? Who's the other?" His father asked, brow furrowed.

Harry took a swig of water from the goblet in front of him. "Dumbledore's successor. Saved my life, bit of a git, but braver than most."

He knew he was getting odd looks, but by some grace, his mother spoke up, changing the subject.

"Ted right? Wasn't your hair blond yesterday?"

Ah, the million galleon question.

"I'm a metamorphamagus."

Harry silently prayed the conversation would switch directions again soon, knowing Ted hated to be pegged with questions about it. Sadly, Sirius decided to speak up...

"My little cousin's one of those. Cheeky girl that one. It's a rare gift."

Teddy nodded. "Yeah, I've only met a few in my life."

Sirius turned to Remus. "Maybe that's why he smells a bit different to you. Ever gotten a sniff of a morph before?"

Remus looked ready to hit Sirius across the face. Harry raised an eyebrow. So Teddy smelled different. He hadn't even thought to ask his godson if he smelled the difference in everyone. Alice spoke up before he got the chance to even look at Ted.

"Dinner's ready."

Two house elves entered levitating plates of food. Harry had forgotten the Longbottoms had elves. The two serving him currently were still serving Augusta Longbottom in the future. Neville and Hannah never found a need for them, borrowing them only on special events, something he suspected Alice and Frank did as well.

Alice directed the plates along the table so they would fall in front of each guest. Harry smiled down at the steak and potatoes, a near match for the dinner he had had with Ginny and the kids mere days ago.

"Remus I told them to make one extra rare for you."

"Thank you, Alice, you're a dream."

She smiled, looking down the table at Harry and the boys. "Do any of you take your steak rare? I had them make an extra?"

"Teddy'll take his raw if you got it."

And Jamie strikes again. Harry was glad to see Teddy laughing in good humor, happy to see a lightly cooked steak land in front of him. He watched as his godson sliced it, revealing a near-raw center running with bloody juices.

Mad-Eye Moody's eye focused in on the steak and he grunted. "That'll kill you. Lupin liking it raw I understand..."

Harry had made the decision that it was up to Teddy to choose if he wanted to reveal himself to his father or not. He hoped he would though, knowing just how badly his godson wanted to know his father. Perhaps more so than Harry wanted to know the James Potter sitting across the table.

Teddy looked up at Moody and Harry instantly knew Tonks's humor was about to shine through her son. With steak juices dripping down his chin, he opened his lips in a manic grin, displaying long canine-like teeth.

Several occupants of the table jumped and there was the sound of silverware clattering onto the oak table. Harry couldn't help but smile, knowing Tonks would be cheering her son for giving her old mentor, Mad-Eye, a good surprise.

"How. Did. You. Do. That?" Sirius was looking in awe. Remus appeared suddenly uncomfortable.

Ted shrugged, eating happily. "I'm good with controlling my animagus form."

"Animagus, I knew it! What's your form?"

Albus answered, cringing. "A very, very large and creepy looking wolf."

"Not someone you wanna meet in a dark alley." Jamie added.

Minerva gave Ted a admiring look. "That sounds impressive."

Harry kept his eyes on Remus. There was an interesting battle occurring in the werewolf's eyes. He obviously smelled the difference in Teddy and now knowing he was a wolf animagus... Suddenly amber eyes met his and Harry didn't look away, wondering if Remus would be able to piece it all together.

"So, Mister Moony, you never answered my question. Do you, or do you not howl?"

Jamie spoke very directly, as if it were a life-or-death question.

"I'm afraid I don't. I'm sure I do when I'm transformed though."

"Teds always howls. Though, he's been doing that since before he was an animagus, right wolf-boy?"

Harry found Dumbledore at the end of the table; he was looking between Remus and Teddy and clearly felt Harry's eyes on him. Blue met green and Harry saw the dawn of understanding. He held up his goblet in a silent toast that no one else noticed. Everyone was enraptured with whatever came out of his sons' mouths it seemed.

"When's the full moon?" Jamie was asking Remus. "Let's throw you and Teddy into the forbidden forest and see who wins, Al and I will referee."

"It's a little insulting how lightly you feel about werewolves, boy." Mad-Eye growled.

Jamie shrugged, swallowing another bite of food. "They're just a little hairy once a month, long as they take their potions they're harmless."

The silence was deafening. Jamie looked up in confusion. Remus seemed pale. "Potions?"

Jamie looked at Ted. "You were the best at potions. When's all that werewolf stuff invented?"

Teddy sighed. "The first one? In...ten years or so."

"Bugger."

"Indeed."

Remus gripped the table. "There's going to be a potion?"

Harry felt the need to explain this one. He cleared his throat. "In the mid and late nineties it was pretty much illegal to be a werewolf. You had a rough go for a while. Then after the war ended, I started changing the auror department, while my best friend essentially began rewriting every wizarding law passed." He smiled, thinking of Hermione. "In our year, 2022, it's not a big deal to be a werewolf. About nine years ago, my time, a potion was invented that if taken immediately after a werewolf bite, the person won't be transformed. It doesn't cure lycanthropy but if the victim takes it within the hour of the bite, they have a sixty percent chance of never becoming a werewolf."

He paused, giving Remus and the rest of the Order a moment to absorb it all. "What James is talking about is the latest version of a potion that pacifies a werewolf. You still transform, but you are as harmless as you wish to be. There's no pain, and your mind is all your own. If I gave you the potion I would feel safe leaving my newborn child in the room with you transformed."

Albus, not one to be left out, jumped in. "Our Aunt Hermione passed laws that made it illegal to discriminate against any kind of magical creature and human. That goes for everything, blood status, lycanthropy, house elves, you name it. A program was then established to provide Wolfsbane, the potion that pacifies the wold, to anyone who needs it."

"Jamie is so flippant about it all," Teddy's voice was soft. "because it's not a big deal to our generation. It really isn't. Mind you, it's becoming more rare to find a werewolf simply because people are safe now when they transform, they have control."

"A lot changes in forty years." Harry murmured, looking down at his plate.

Remus had to be feeling a million thoughts and emotions. Ted...Harry wondered just what was going through the young Auror's head. He had a perfect chance to share his paternity right here. But it was too public, a table full of dead people.

The conversation started to scatter about the table, Order members speaking to each other and some shooting the boys random questions, favorite subject, Quidditch position and the like.

"Our mum played for the Harpies for about five years."

"I get a son that saves the world and a daughter-in-law that plays pro Quidditch." James chuckled. "Brilliant."

Harry felt his heart soar. To hear such a comment about Ginny and himself...from his own father. He wanted badly to pull James aside and have a real conversation with him, but...

"Mister Potter?"

He turned to see Alice and Frank looking at him carefully. Her arms were folded over her tummy in a protective manner. He felt his lips curling into a grin, knowing just who was growing within. "Thought of any names?"

Frank appeared taken aback. "Jasmine for a girl. Neville if it's a boy."

Harry smiled, nodding. "Neville's a nice name."

A wide grin spread across the future father's face and he immediately looked down at his wife's stomach, wonder in his features. They were so excited to be parents.

"Harry?"

He was pulled from watching the scene by his mother's gentle voice. Both of his parents, so young in age, were looking at him. "You said last night...it's just...who would have abused you?"

He sighed, knowing everyone was trying to listen in for his response. "It was a very tricky thing that saved me the night you two were killed. And it had a lot to do with your love for me. Let's just say Sirius and Remus...there was only one safe place for me and it wasn't the greatest home life. I lived with your sister, Petunia, and her husband and son."

Lily's mouth hung open. She didn't move or speak, she just stared at her own green eyes. Harry knew she was trying to figure out why he would be placed there.

His father stepped in. "Sorry, but why would she even take you in?"

"She and Vernon may be awful people, but I was still her nephew and it would keep me alive. For years I resented the awful way they treated me, but when I grew up I realized I probably would have been killed or worse if they hadn't taken me."

"But, why would you go _there_? Has _everyone_ been killed and they really are the only ones left to care for you?"

The sadness and pain his mother's eyes was heartbreaking. Her feelings towards her sister and brother-in-law must be at their worst in this time. She looked devastated at the thought of her sister raising her son.

"I wish I could explain the details but I can't. I'm not bitter about my lack of childhood, I've made up for it. Merlin, I married a woman with six brothers!"

Lily's eyes softened. Her husband had a comforting arm draped around her and she sighed into him. "You were only a year old when we died?"

He nodded.

"So...you don't know us at all? Do you?"

Harry sighed. "Honestly? Aside from what other's have shown me and..." He trailed off, not wanting to mention that his only memory of them was their murders. "No, I don't know you."

"Come and stay with us."

Harry blinked in confusion. "Sorry...?"

"Come stay with James and I. We want to know you and since we don't get a chance in the future...Please, come and stay with us." She smiled at the boys. "All of you. I'm a little young to be a grandmother, but..."

He looked at his sons, who were nodding enthusiastically. Teddy was too, but with less excitement. He knew Remus would be around constantly, along with Sirius. It was too good an opportunity.

"All right, thank you."

Dinner carried on, the conversation unusually light and cheerful. Lily wouldn't stop smiling at them, her eyes darting from each man and always ending with her husband, obviously attempting to weed out each similarity they shared.

He soon found himself standing beside his sons in the entrance hall while Remus, Sirius and his parents smiled at them. They were all going to Godric's Hollow. And Harry suddenly felt undeniable terror.

Teddy stared up at the aging white ceiling. He was, once again, in a new room with his two brothers asleep across the space in their own cots. The cottage held four bedrooms. Lily and James had placed them in the guest room across the hall from Harry's nursery, Harry was supposed to be sleeping with his sons, but Ted had heard him slip out well over an hour ago. They were also next door to the room Remus and Sirius were asleep in.

He was a single wall away from his father. And he had just eaten a dinner alongside his father. They had exchanged words, and...

It was as if the large void in his chest was stretching even further apart in distance.

"_Hey, Teds, what's that?"_

_He looked up to see his godfather standing above him, a grin on his face. He gestured at the book in Teddy's lap, repeating his question. "What cha reading?"_

"_Book on werewolves. I was wondering if there were other..."_

_Harry frowned and sat down on the couch beside him. "As far as I know, you're the only one. I've managed to find two other children with werewolf fathers, but the only symptom they share with you is the behavior during the full moon."_

"_So why me? Why do I have such...wolfish tendencies?"_

_His godfather barked with laughter. "I hardly call them wolfish tendencies, pup. Let's list them all, shall we? Anxious and excitable during the full moon. Prefers meat nearly raw. Excellent senses, particularly hearing and smelling. And a particular gift for transfiguration, though I hardly see how that relates to werewolf genetics."_

"_Harry, I'm only good when I do wolf-like characteristics. Fangs, claws, fur..."_

"_Indeed. You'll have the full form down before you graduate next year."_

"_Why? I wasn't surprised or anything when I realized my form was a wolf, I mean, my patronus is one and Dad, well..."_

_Harry carefully removed the book from Ted's lap and tossed it onto the coffee table. "Let's compare you to Bill, shall we? He likes rare meat and has a stronger sense of smell."_

"_But his hearing and vision aren't like mine. He's cranky on the full moon, not full of energy. He also isn't skilled at turning furry at will."_

"_Maybe he would if he tried." Harry shrugged._

_Teddy glared at him. "Not helpful. I just...want some answers."_

"_I wish I had them for you, pup, I do. But these are questions you may never have answers to."_

_The teenager groaned, tugging at his currently black hair. "Gran says I didn't show any of these attributes when I was a baby, just that I giggled or cried all through the full moon. I've thought about it and I think I started growing into it all around four or five. Does that sound right?"_

_Harry nodded thoughtfully. "You could smell dinner before Ginny had even cooked it. You also stopped sleeping through the night on full moons. Too much energy. Then the sun would rise and you would be dead tired, of course."_

_Teddy didn't say anything. As grateful as he was for his family, there were certain conversations that made him long for his father. _

"_Would my Dad...would he have been upset about this?"_

_Harry's frown deepened. "About your...?"_

"_Me being like a werewolf."_

"_First of all, I repeat, you are not like a werewolf, Teddy Remus. And second, I think he would require reassurance, yes."_

"_Reassurance?"_

"_Your father's greatest fear was that his lycanthropy would be passed on to you. He feared his child would be an outcast of society with no future."_

"_That's absurd!"_

"_You don't know how werewolves were treated back then. If Remus heard you so frustrated over these...abilities...he would jump to the conclusion that you resented your heritage."_

"_I don't-"_

_His godfather raised a hand to silence him. "But it frustrates you. He would blame himself for upsetting you because of what he was once a month."_

_Teddy didn't speak for a long minute. He finally looked back up at Harry. "It was really hard for him, wasn't it?"_

"_More so than I think any of us can understand."_

He rolled over, letting out a deep sigh. Could he tell his father who he was? Would he understand, want to know his future son? The questions darted about within his mind until he fell asleep, listening to his brothers' deep breathing.

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_A/N: Reviewers get to spend as much time as they want with the fabulous Teddy Lupin (:_


	9. In the End

_A/N: _This is a really important chapter, despite its short length. Harry values his children (and Ginny) above everything else. He keeps watching Teddy struggle with himself and his identity and now time seems to have run out, leaving Harry to feel his job as a father will be left incomplete. Thanks for reading!

* * *

_All I know_

_time is a valuable thing_

_Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings_

_Watch it count down to the end of the day_

_The clock ticks life away_

_In the End by Linkin Park_

_The wind was picking up, ruffling two raven mops of hair. Harry gripped his godson's hand tightly, his eyes darting between the small boy and the busy London street. Several cars, a few cabs, flew by. Somewhere down the road, a flurry of honks sounded over the general roar of the busy street._

"_Don't let go, Teddy."_

_At five years old, he was full of joy and curiosity. Bright, blue eyes shined up. "Got it!"_

_The signal at the cross walk changed and Harry moved them swiftly across the black pavement, nearly dragging Ted alongside him. _

"_I'm a bit surprised your Gran never got on board with the muggle scene, considering your grandfather."_

_Teddy peered up at him before returning to his wonder, his head turning every direction in an attempt to absorb all that was around him. "Did my mum like muggle stuff?"_

"_Mhm." He nodded, focused on making their destination on time. His eyes bounced from street signs to the hold he had on Ted's small hand, ensuring he was safely attached. "From what I remember, she didn't know so much about muggles themselves. She just thoroughly enjoyed the fun aspects. Clothes, music..."_

"_The cinema?" He squealed, thrilled to be able to pronounce such an unusual new word._

_Harry chuckled. "Yes, the cinema, as well."_

_They came to the large building, large posters adorning the outer walls and surrounded with bright lights. Teddy stared in amazement, forgetting to move his feet for a moment and causing his godfather to tug on his arm patiently._

_The small boy watched as his godfather purchased the tickets. Harry grinned, bending down and handing a small paper to Teddy. "This is your ticket. Hold on to it. Tightly now."_

_Entering the building, the smell of butter and hotdogs swarmed their senses. After procuring a large bucket of popcorn for them to share, Harry lead them towards the back where a man stood at a podium, his hand outstretched already._

"_Give him your ticket, Ted."_

_Shyly, he handed over the ticket, watching the large man tear it in two and handing half back to Teddy with a smile. He attempted a timid smile in return, his little arm wrapped around Harry's leg, fingers gripping the denim of his jeans._

_The room they walked into was dark and cold, with tiny glowing orbs along the floor, just enough light so they could see where they stepped. There were a few other children in the theater, a few parents sitting with each group. Harry let Ted choose their seats: a pair high in the back, slightly off center._

_He settled the tub of popcorn in his godson's lap, laughing at the awestruck expression the boy wore as the screen lit up, cartoon images moving across the scene._

"_You like it?"_

"_This is wicked, Dad!"_

_Harry frowned. However, Teddy was far too absorbed in the movie to even notice the saddened and confused look on his godfather's face._

_After the movie, he had dropped Teddy off back home with his grandmother. Harry entered his house wearily, shrugging off his coat and carelessly tossing it onto the sofa._

"_Harry?"_

_His wife looked up from the armchair she was ensconced in, a book now closed in her lap. "How did Teddy like the film?"_

"_Loved it." He sighed, sinking down onto the worn sofa._

_Ginny frowned. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"_

_Harry shrugged, looking up at the ceiling. He ran a hand through his hair, biting down on his bottom lip._

"_Harry, what's bothering you? What happened?"_

_He fiddled with the hem of his jumper. "You know how Ted, sometimes when he's not paying attention, he calls me Dad?"_

_Ginny's face relaxed, a knowing look in her eyes. She rose up and took a few steps forward before sitting down beside her husband, letting his arm automatically wrap around her shoulder. "You are his father, Harry. And just because Teddy likes to acknowledge that fact does not mean he is forgetting Remus."_

"_I know, love. But, is it wrong that I love being his dad, that I love him thinking of me that way?"_

"_No. You have helped raise him since he was a week old. Everyone knows it too and everyone, Andromeda and Ted included, consider you his father."_

_He met her eyes, skeptical. "Isn't that an insult to Remus's memory? Like I'm replacing him?"_

"_Harry, you tell Ted stories about his parents all the time. You do everything to keep Remus and Tonks's memory alive for him. Would you have considered Sirius your father if he had raised you?"_

"_Perhaps."_

"_And if we had a son and then we died, would you want our child to think of his godfather, I dunno, Ron, as a father?"_

_He frowned. "Aren't we getting a little too hypothetical about this?"_

_Rolling her eyes, she leaned closer. "I'm just trying to explain to you that you shouldn't feel guilty. It's not like Teddy only calls you Daddy. Though he did try when he was an infant. He knows that both of his fathers love him more than anything. And that is what is important."_

_Harry nodded, knowing she was right. But that did nothing to erase the worry he had been feeling from the day nine month old Teddy had cried out, 'Da'._

"Dad! Wake-up! Get up, Harry!"

His eyes flew open to see Teddy looking over him with a worried expression. He was sporting shaggy brown hair, his eyes warm amber, not too unlike his natural irises. His words reverberated in Harry's thoughts. He had called him Dad.

"What time is it?" He sat up slowly, stretching out his neck. He was sitting in the rickety, woven chair on the back porch.

"A bit after seven. What are you doing out here?"

"Too unnerved to sleep. I took a peek in the room that will be my nursery though. Full of old junk." He chuckled, thinking about how he had been surprised to not find the yellow walls of his intended bedroom.

"Your mum had said last night that they only just chose it to be your nursery." Ted reminded him. "They only just found out she was pregnant a few days ago. Though you sort of ruined the shock factor."

"I haven't taken arithmetic since I was ten, so forgive me for fudging up the months a bit." Harry rose up slowly, feeling the usual aches in his joints. "Your brothers up?"

He shook his head. "No one is. Sirius is snoring on the couch actually."

"Figures." Harry reached out a hand and gave Ted's shoulder a squeeze. "Did you get any sleep?"

"Few hours. Like you said. Too unnerved."

"Strange to sleep so close to your mysterious father." Harry smirked, earning a weak chuckle from his godson.

"Yeah, something like that."

"How are you taking all this? I'm sorry I haven't really been here..."

"No, no, I understand. It's probably worse for you. Both parents, the godfather, the mentor..." Teddy stared off towards the woods, burying his hands in his pockets.

Harry sighed. "Want to talk about it, or would you like to brood on it for a few more days?"

The younger man glared in response. "I do not brood. I ponder. And, no I don't want to talk about the father I never knew sleeping in the other room."

"Want to talk about my father-I-never-knew sleeping in the other room?"

Teddy smiled a genuine smile, causing Harry to feel a thrill of success. He had been trying so hard to decipher what had been eating away at his godson the past few months. But then his diagnosis happened. And now they weren't even in the correct time period. Made being a father a bit tricky.

The sound of the back door opening caught their attention and they both turned to see Lily, wearing her dressing gown and standing in the doorway, embarrassed. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't think anyone would be up this early."

She blushed, glancing down at her feet for a moment. "The boys never get up before nine. Unless there's food." She paused, emerald eyes darting between both men. "Are you two hungry?"

Harry was amused. His mother was shy. He had never expected that. Everything he had seen and heard before had shown him that she was a fiery force to be reckoned with, so like his Ginny. Though, it was most likely due to the random appearance of child and grandchildren that evoked the timid manner. That didn't change the amusement in it, however.

He cleared his throat. "I was going to go for a quick jog actually. Teddy, you want to come?"

His godson nodded and Harry turned back to his young mother with a smile. Lily nodded before vanishing back into the house.

"Weird to call her Lily. Lily's my kid sister, not grandmother."

Harry chuckled. "I agree completely. C'mon, we can transfigure our boots into decent running shoes. Later we'll buy some real clothes. These will collapse if we keep transforming them."

Ted nodded, pulling out his wand. Transfiguration had, naturally, always been his best subject. Magical Creatures and Defense were a close second though. Harry smiled to himself. Remus and Tonks shone through Teddy in so many subtle ways.

They decided to run through the woods and fields, wanting to avoid the village and possible people. Plus, the scenic nature of Godric's Hollow was much more familiar and comforting than the village, where he would be able to notice all the changes forty years made. Something about snow covered hills and trees seemed timeless. He kept glancing at Teddy, observing the intense expression on his face. He was clearly thinking about Remus. Harry longed to know what was causing his godson so much confusion and anger the past few months. He had spoken to Victoire several times, before and after they had broken up. She was just as confused as anyone. Though she had offered insight similar to what Harry's thoughts were...

"_I told you, Uncle Harry, he just seems so lost in his head."_

_He sat down his cup and smiled briefly at Ginny as she sat down on the couch beside him. "He's angry too."_

_Ginny spoke up. "Reminds me of you at fifteen to be honest."_

"_But Teddy isn't being hunted down by a madman and no one is withholding potentially vital information either." He sighed, leaning back in his chair and focusing back on his niece. "What was he like at dinner with Andromeda the other night?"_

_Vic shrugged. "Normal. That's what's so confusing about it all. He hasn't completely changed. Just little things with his mood and interests really." She paused. "He has been mentioning his parents a lot though."_

"_He's been asking me questions lately too."_

"_Yesterday he must've spent an hour sitting around with my Dad talking about them."_

_Harry draped his arm around Ginny, pulling her closer. "I think that's the root of our problem."_

Yes it was. Which is why this situation was so much worse for his godson. He felt so hopeless. He had devoted everything to make sure Teddy never felt pain or loneliness. And it seemed like he had run out of time to ensure that. He had so much more to do for his godson. For his other children as well. Being a father, he constantly felt reminded of how fast time flew, watching his babies turn into adults. But now, time was moving too fast on him, on his life and everything he had worked for.

The cottage came into sight again and they slowed their pace to a walk, both of them sucking in deep breaths of frigid air. Harry groaned. "I'm too old for this."

Ted chuckled. "Not something an Auror should say, sir, especially not the department head."

"I'll retire."

As Teddy laughed again, Harry felt a pang of sadness. He was retiring. When he said it now, it wasn't a joke. His health would deteriorate and prevent him from working.

Entering the back door, they found everyone awake and sitting around the fireplace. Jamie was dramatically telling a story of his phenomenal save at the last Quidditch match. He looked at his father and god-brother as they came in.

"Dad, you and Mum were at the match. The one against Ravenclaw, remember that?"

Harry chuckled and sank down into the seat next to him, Albus on his right. "That was a pretty good game."

"Pretty good? It was bloody amazing."

"Language. Your mother would have none of that."

Jamie deflated and looked across the coffee table at Sirius. "I know Grandad did, but did you play Quidditch?"

Sirius grinned. "With friends on occasion. I'm afraid Prongs was the only one among us with any real talent. Seems it's genetic. Do you all play?"

Albus snorted. "Of course we do! Our mum was a pro and Dad could've been if wasn't saving the world all the time."

Harry sighed. "Story of my life, son. Wouldn't trade it for anything, though. Got you all out of it, didn't I?"

Lily was next to her husband sitting in front of the fireplace. She kept her eyes on Harry. "When did you decide you wanted kids?"

Leaning back, Harry blinked several times in confusion. She had so calmly thrown the question at him. He glanced around and noticed Remus and Sirius were also waiting for an answer. Finally, he shrugged. "I didn't decide. I was seventeen and had a week old baby thrown at me." He beamed at Teddy.

"You were only seventeen?"

He nodded. "Ted's parents both fought and died in the final battle. I had never been around a baby before but I think I picked it up pretty fast."

"Seems you've been fairly successful." It was Remus.

Harry smile widely. Save for his sons, no one knew how much those words meant. "I tried."

"Teddy was just the practice child though." Jamie smirked.

Ted snorted in response, glaring at his brother. "Practice child?"

"C'mon, Dad inherited you!" Harry had to grin at that, enjoying the humor in the way Jamie spoke. "People want to inherit cool stuff, not babies. The way I see it, you were just practice for when they had me."

"James, you do know you were an accident, right?"

He gaped at Ted before turning to his father. "Can you believe him?"

Harry shrugged. "You didn't know?"

"W-what? It's true? You and Mum didn't plan me?" He seemed rather put-out about the whole thing.

"Of course we didn't. Ginny was halfway through her season, she was hoping to go for another championship."

Teddy was chuffed, elbowing Jamie. "You were Oops."

Albus was howling at that one. Harry ended the fun with, "I wouldn't laugh. You were Uh-Oh."

"I don't believe this. We were all accidents?"

"Nah, just you boys."

Jamie narrowed his eyes. "So Lily was planned?"

"Planned? I started asking for her the day Albus was born. Not that I wasn't thrilled with you, son."

"Clearly."

His oldest son could not seem to accept the indignity. James Sirius had always had a bit of an arrogant air to him, so it did not surprise Harry that he had assumed his birth had been treated like a grand production.

"My life is a lie."

"No, just a nuisance for the rest of us."

Jamie dove for Ted and the room erupted in laughter. Harry chuckled heartedly, enjoying his sons' behavior. But the laughter suddenly caught in his throat and he fell into a coughing fit. Sirius came to his side and clapped him on the back; his coughing grew more painful.

A disgusting and far too familiar taste filled his mouth and the coughing finally subsided. He pulled his hand away from his mouth, staring down at the sticky, red mess. The room was silent. Harry wiped his bottom lip, feeling a coating of blood and frowned.

"Damn," he whispered, watching his sons' faces fade away and darkness consume him.


	10. Demons

__A/N: Look, I'm not dead! One thing I can promise: this story will never be abandoned, I will finish it! Thanks for the reviews!

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_I want to hide the truth_

_I want to shelter you_

_But with the beast inside_

_There's nowhere we can hide_

_No matter what we breed_

_We still are made of greed_

_Demons by Imagine Dragons_

"HE'S DONE IT! JUGSON HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! THE ARROWS BEST THE CANNONS, FINAL SCORE: 370 TO 120!"

Her mother was lying in bed, her red hair fanning across the white sheets. Lily moved to the wireless, turning the dial and ending the sounds of a stadium full of cheers. With a quick glance back at her mother to assure she was still sleeping soundly, Lily turned back to the case of shelves that held the wireless and her parents' various belongings. She bent down to the bottom shelf and pulled off a photo album, one tucked behind her parents' wedding album. Then, with one last look at her mother, she slipped from the bedroom, closing the door gently behind her.

Down the hall, she tucked herself back into her still warm bed. Opening the album in her lap, she smiled, touching the page affectionately. The album was a scrapbook of her father's Hogwarts years and the few years after, leading up to his wedding. Her mother had made the book herself, a gift during their engagement. The first photograph was of her father, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione. They were only twelve, so young and different looking.

Lily flipped through the pages, reading over the torn news clippings, moving photos and small descriptions in her mother's pen. Her brothers had never seen the album before. Lily had stumbled upon it the summer after her first year. She still remembered the concerned look on her mother's face when she had questioned her about it.

It was an amazing collection. While her father's study was full of framed news articles and awards, from the _Daily Prophet's_ front page the day after the Final Battle to his Order of Merlins, both of them, it held nothing about his Hogwarts years. The only items from that time he shared were occasional happy photographs, of Quidditch and his friends, the few shots of both of her parents, sixteen and smiling. The scrapbook was all there was to go with the tight lipped stories of the past; images of the great Harry Potter battling a dragon, emerging from the Black Lake, serious moments of the Triwizard Champion.

The chuckling faces of her father, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin caught her attention. Particularly Remus Lupin. Few people, only family members and Victoire, had seen Teddy in his normal state. When he was younger he typically only altered small details, hair and eye color, but once he grew and his talents strengthened, he became accustomed to shifting other features. His jaw line, the curve of his nose, the shape of his mouth. Over time, the subtle changes melded into who he was.

But looking at the scarred face of Ted's father reminded Lily exactly what Teddy truly looked like. It was like her father and Albus, the clone-like similarities. His warm, amber eyes, sandy brown hair, the nose, the face shape...his mouth and ears were definitely from his mother, Lily decided, but other than that, he was his father's son.

She closed the book and set it on her bed side table. Teddy was her big brother, always strong and always there for her. He had a calming nature, with a wicked sense of humor. He was a closet book worm, but determined to act the jock. But lately, none of those attributes were shining like they used to. It worried her. Lily wrapped her blankets around her body, sighing loudly in the dim room.

"We need you, Teddy. Daddy needs you."

"I'm afraid since retirement, I haven't been keeping up to date with the latest muggle techniques. There isn't a whole lot I know about cancer."

"Well, from what you do know, what's your opinion?"

"You said it was a brain tumor? The new symptoms are more prevalent with cancer of the lungs as well. It seems to me that the cancer is spreading. When did the tumor start showing symptoms?"

"Er, I think he said about a month ago."

"I'd prepare yourself, Mister Potter, this is a tricky disease even with magic to combat symptoms. It sounds to me like his case is developing rapidly."

"Yeah, okay. Thanks, Mister Bobham, I'm sorry to disturb your Sunday."

"No worries, my boy, best of luck."

Teddy released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. The door shut and he listened as James' footsteps vanished. He was on the floor of the parlor, leaning against the wall that divided the room from the entrance hall.

It was spreading. Fast.

He ran his hands through his hair, trademark black and messy, tugging tightly on the locks. It was too soon, he was not ready for this. He wasn't ready for anything. At all.

"Hey."

He looked up to see Jamie sinking down beside him.

"I thought you were sitting with him."

"Al's in there now."

"Still hasn't woken up?"

"Nope," he responded.

Teddy rested his head against the wall. "It will be fine. Hermione has probably already found a cure for this and as soon as we get back-"

"Teddy, don't."

So he didn't. He rested a hand on his brother's knee and the two sat in silence. Both were thinking over the idea of losing their father, watching him fall to pieces. Ted glanced to the window, the sky a variety of pinks and violets, a deep contrast to the cloudy gloom that had been overhead all day.

"Tonight is full moon."

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Jamie staring at him. "I know. I feel it, remember?"

"Have you thought about...you know?"

"Of course I have."

"Have you decided if-"

"Not a clue."

"It couldn't hurt, mate, he's your dad."

Ted ran his fingers over the denim covering his own knee. He had dreamed about spending full moon with his father on numerous occasions, wondered how it would feel to be understood, how, as a werewolf, his father would respond to him. And now he had a chance to find out.

"I'll keep thinking about it."

Jamie gave his arm a squeeze before standing and leaving the room.

Teddy waited until the house fell into silence again. He could hear through the walls, the low voices of James, Lily, Sirius, and of course, Remus Lupin. Sighing, he stood up and slipped out the front door, stealing a coat off the rack as he went.

Breathing deeply, he took a moment to pinpoint all the different scents, each kind of tree, every bird, small animal and human in the area. His senses were at their best the evening of the full moon. He could still remember being eight years old, his keening senses driving him wild as he sat inside on full moon. Harry's face, concern and curiosity. Then his godfather had handed him a light jacket and the pair had slipped into the summer night.

That was his first true experience of the wonder. The mesmerizing glow of the moon, the way the shadows seemed to come alive, his nostrils filled with so many new, exciting scents. All night, his godfather had wandered aimlessly across the estate with him, indulging him in brief pauses to simply stare at the radiating light above.

He knew his grandmother was slightly fearful of his burgeoning abilities. After all, Ted was progressing very differently than the few other children with similar bloodlines. His Gran feared the power of the moon would overcome the innocence in him, alter his personality, his _light_ as she liked to call it.

Darkness had fallen across the woods now. The full moon was high and he could literally sense the presence of another creature, of his father. He had encountered his share of werewolves as an Auror, but only on a few occasions had he actually thrust himself into the same surroundings as one for purely curiosity's sake. It was an interesting experience. Sharing space with a creature like that, Wolfsbane or not. Without the potion in their systems, they tended to be violent, picking fights with other animals. Those with the potion, of course, were demure, behaving like the person within.

Teddy shrugged off his coat and boots; they never handled the transformation well. He breathed in deeply, imagining his thick coat surrounding him, his claws retracting, snout growing. Transformed as a wolf, he felt more himself. He sniffed the air, finding the direction his father and friends were before setting off at a trot. His whole life he had been waiting for this, this fleeting dream that seemed forever out of reach, a complete impossibility.

They were at least five kilometers from Godric's Hallow. There, racing in a formation of some sloppy invention, was a stag, a large dog, and a growling werewolf. As Ted moved closer, he saw Lupin trying to nip at Sirius. The animagus was humoring him, growling and snapping playfully. What a sight.

Suddenly the werewolf froze, nose in the air. Teddy felt his paws sink further in the snow, his claws clenching as he bared down, instincts preparing him for the now advancing beast.

The attack was not violent. No, it was downright playful. The bites were hardly painful, only one actually drawing blood. They carried on, exchanging growls and snaps, pinning one another into the snowy banks.

He could sense James and Sirius following closer, the latter trying to invade the party on multiple occasions. Ted freely stepped aside, but his father would have none of it. He wanted to continue his sparring. It was as if the werewolf could sense who he was. Would Remus remember this when he woke up? It was common for them to remember flashes of their nights transformed, but not guaranteed.

Suddenly Teddy felt himself being tackling into a nearby tree. He whined, his spine taking most of the blow. Gathering himself, he realized it had been Sirius. The dog was now trying to push the werewolf away, leaving James to try and coax Ted away, antlers bowed down in defense. They were protecting Remus. Ted had to slip past the stag, taking off at a full sprint. His father followed immediately, the pair of wolves able to move much faster than the other two animagi.

They chased for a long time, hours perhaps, Ted wasn't sure. They fought with joy and the werewolf was behaving more like a fellow wolf, an animal of a normal caliber, able to sense the presence of his own young. Finally they came to rest in the shadows of the woods.

He curled up first, at the base of tree, tired from the activity. The sun would rise soon, he could feel it. Still panting from the run, his werewolf of a father made himself comfortable just a few feet away. Ted glanced up only when heard the footfalls of James and Sirius a short time later. After that, he kept his eyes on his father who refused to move, matching the yellow eyed gaze.

During his Auror training, he had witnessed the beginning and end transformations of werewolves several times. But they were not his father. He didn't watch fur fade away into scarred skin, yellow eyes melt to the same amber he saw in the mirror. Or screams that sounded like something from his childhood nightmares.

James reverted to human form and went to his friend's side. Sirius, however, remained a dog, standing in front of the pair, watching Teddy with jowls bared. Right, Ted was still the mysterious wolf who took a liking to them.

"He stay with us all night?"

James nodded wearily, helping Remus to his feet. "Yeah, it was strange...you and him played, actually _played_ like a couple of puppies."

Teddy did not move, just lazily watched them, eyes following their movements.

"He seems...harmless."

"We'll let Sirius keep an eye on him. Let's get you back to the house."

Teddy did not follow them.

His body hurt, as always. They were barely through the door when Lily had him ushered into a chair, a cup of hot chocolate in his hands. That woman. He didn't deserve her friendship. He didn't deserve any of them.

It took him a few moments to realize Harry was sitting on the couch. He was pale, deathly pale, as he smiled grimly. "Welcome to land of the humans, Moony," he joked, his voice revealing further just how tired he was.

"Thank you," he muttered, draining his mug of chocolate.

James was standing by the windows, Sirius at his side. They both had their arms crossed, gazing out with guarded expressions. Al and Jamie took immediate notice. "What is it?"

"This wolf followed us all night. He's in the yard now."

Al moved over to them and chuckled. "That's just Teddy. Not surprised he was with you lot last night."

Remus frowned. "Why?"

But no one responded to his question. Jamie was holding open the door for the wolf, now identified as Teddy. He had managed to grip a pair of boots and the sleeve of a coat in his mouth. Entering the house, he trotted to the fireplace and deposited his items before transforming into the familiar man.

"You're awake." He was at Harry's side instantly.

"And I'm fine. Woke up not too long after you left the house probably. Just needed some good sleep. I hear you were having fun."

Teddy smiled bashfully, looking over at Remus. "Sorry about crashing your party last night." He sat down beside his godfather, thanking Lily as she handed him his own mug.

Sirius fell into his usual armchair. "Why did you?"

"Never sleep the night of full moon. Too much energy."

"_Way_ too much energy. Which meant no one else slept when he was a kid." Harry added dryly.

Lupin felt his curiosity increase. Ted seemed to give him more questions the longer he was around. "Do you know why?"

"Oh, yeah, it's because I'm half werewolf. My father," he added for clarity.

Lily took note of her friend's sudden despair and plucked the empty mug from Remus's hands before he could drop it.

"I-I'm sorry, but your father is a werewolf?"

Ted was having a silent conversation with Harry it seemed, the two of them exchanging looks. Finally the younger man sighed, forcing a smile. "You know how I'm a metamorphamagus?"

Everyone nodded, murmuring in assent.

"Well, it's sort of habit for me not to look like...myself. Let me show you." Scrunching up his face, the black hair lightened, the curve of his jaw shifted, his nose reshaped and once he opened his eyes, he revealed painfully familiar caramel eyes.

"Merlin..."

Sirius had a more colorful reaction, while Lily simply sat with a hand clamped over her mouth.

Remus felt his entire body quiver, throat dry and his mind blank. This man...Teddy...was his son? Was that what he was saying? How could he, Remus Lupin, werewolf, have fathered a child? And a moderately normal one at that. He leaned back in the chair, fighting a grip on reality. All the while, maintaining eye contact with Ted, his son.

When he had seen his godfather, his first feeling was relief, relief that he was alive, that he was sitting up. But then Teddy noticed the pale complexion, the tired eyes. His illness was fighting him, and Harry was not winning. They really needed to get home.

He sat down beside Harry, trying to appraise his health, while still being light hearted. The night prior had filled him with so much joy, so much...content. He had so many questions finally answered. It gave him hope. Hope that Harry would be okay. That they would return home safely, that nothing will have happened, that Victoire would hold true to her promises to never stop loving him...

"Never sleep the night of full moon. Too much energy."

It was like speaking with new friends. Fear of his father rejecting him seemed minor. He had an entire night of wrestling and new memories to fuel his emotions, his confidence. So the decision to reveal himself just sort of...happened.

Letting down his morphs, showing his true features always felt like taking off a mask. The mask was perfectly fine; he _loved_ the mask. He never felt like he was hiding behind it, or trying to deceive others. The mask was part of who he was as a metamorphamagus, as Ted Lupin. Now, mask gone, he was still that same person. Only he was showing his heritage, showing his father's face, his father's eyes and features...

Remus - it still felt too strange to think of him as father, or even Dad; that was still Harry in his mind - could not find the words. His mouth opened and closed and then there was a nibbling feeling of fear in Ted's stomach.

_You have Harry. You have Harry. You have Harry. And Ginny. And Gran. And every single Weasley relative..._

It did not matter what his father thought or said; yes, it would be nice to be accepted easily and with open arms. But Ted did not need that. He didn't need his father. He had grown up just fine without him.

"You're my son."

It was not a question. More like Lupin was trying to absorb the new fact. Breathing a bit more deeply, he spoke again. "I don't want to...be rude or anything, but _how_?"

"Well, when a man and woman love each other..."

Teddy snorted, looking at his god-brother. Jamie winked at him, understanding the unspoken gesture.

"Harry, would you like to take that one? It's not like I was there."

His godfather smiled meekly, looking over at his former teacher. "Ted's mother was an Auror. You two met through the second Order of Phoenix."

Sirius said, "Moony, I never thought I'd see the day." He looked at Harry. "Tell me I at least lived to see that."

Harry frowned. "Not the wedding, I'm afraid. Though, I have from a reasonable source that you were their biggest cheerleader. Apparently you decided to devote yourself to putting Remus in the most uncomfortable situations, thereby forcing him to admit his feelings."

Teddy felt his lips curve into a smile; the stories never grew old for him. He kept a close tab on his father's reactions though. They varied, mostly between wonder and sheer panic.

"So, who is this girl?" James asked, his wife nodding in agreement.

"Can't tell you. But," Harry held up a finger. "I will tell you that she is _distantly_ related to Sirius."

The future convict rolled his eyes. "That narrows it down! The Blacks are the biggest bunch of inbred...I'm technically related to half of England! Not to mention, I have metamorphamagi on several sides of the tree. Though, little Nymie is the only one alive currently, that I know of."

By some miracle, no one noticed the shared look of glee between the two Potter boys. Glad they were enjoying things.

"I think this has been exciting enough for everyone. Why don't we have some breakfast?" Lily stood, patting Remus on the shoulder. The werewolf looked shell shocked, unable to move or speak.

Teddy felt Harry's hand grip his shoulder. He turned to meet green eyes and felt worry grow at the sickly state he was in. Pushing past that, he could see exactly what was shining in his godfather's eyes.

Pride.


End file.
